Paula Deen's Housekeeper Going to Prison for Sticky Fingers

Former employee sentenced to 18 months for swiping Food Network star's jewelry

By Natalie Finn Dec 20, 2010 11:29 PMTags
Paula DeenAP Photo/J. Pat Carter

Paula Deen's housekeeper stole more than a pie off the window sill.

Mary Alice White was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting to swiping jewelry from the bubbly Food Network star during the nine months she worked for Deen and her husband Michael Groover.

Bet that left a bad aftertaste.

Deen alerted police earlier this year that more than $100,000 worth of men's and women's jewelry had gone missing from her Wilmington Island home.

The shiitake hit the fan for White when she was arrested May 5 after trying to pawn an $18,000 pair of earrings. She was released from custody, but promptly picked up a week later after attempting to unload a $7,000 Rolex and a $2,500 bracelet at a different pawn shop, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Not the smartest cookie in the jar, that one.