Easter Theft Leaves Dartmouth Paskamansett Farms Reconsidering Honor System

A group of 5 people raided the outdoor coolers at Paskamansett Farms Sunday night in North Dartmouth.

Paskamansett Farms Owner Bill Coutu says it is disappointing to see.  "We had gone out for a while last night.  When we came back, the cooler had been wiped out, and it never gets wiped out like that."

For more than three decades, customers have used the honor system to pay for things like milk and eggs.  Last night, however, the cooler was stocked with ice cream and food that is normally unloaded at the end of the day.  Coutu had an early morning appointment today, so rushed their closing last night leaving the cooler fully stocked.

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"One girl actually opened the milk, drank some, and put the bottle back and opened another one, leaving the open bottle in the cooler."  After the feast was over, the group had eaten more than $300 worth of food, then left $4 to cover it.

Will Paskamansett Farms continue to use the honor system?  Coutu says, "We're hoping we can catch them and stop it, because they will keep coming back.  It's unfortunate because a lot of people come to buy milk during off hours."

This is certainly not the first time the business has had to deal with dishonesty.  Coutu says people would be shocked at who has ripped them off in the past.

"We've had people that are millionaires come in and do it for the thrill. One lady has a house overlooking Padanaram Harbor, she's never had a mortgage payment in her life, and she was coming and doing it two or three times a week before we caught her on the surveillance video."

Still, yesterday's Easter Sunday theft left Coutu scratching his head.  "People think there's no cameras here, where do you go where there are no cameras?"