New York Socialite Charged With Swiping Scarf

June 16, 2011 -- Beata Boman is a glamorous New York socialite best known for catching a kiss from Prince Andrew during a 2008 vacation in St. Tropez and frequenting the photo pages that track the rich-and-famous.

But now the 38-year-old's most famous photo is a mug shot after police in Greenwich, Conn., arrested her Tuesday evening for allegedly stealing an $11,000 scarf from a high-end store in the upscale New York City suburb.

The troubles for Boman, a Polish-born, self-described former model and fashion designer, began earlier Tuesday afternoon when the head of security at Richards of Greenwich, the tony store where the socialite was shopping, claimed he saw her take the mink-trimmed stole scarf and walk out of the store.

Greenwich police told the Associated Press the security director called police as he followed Boman out of the store and up Greenwich Avenue to a Starbucks at the end of the street.

Boman stopped into the coffee shop before she began walking back towards Richards, where she was stopped by a police officer and "admitted that she stole [the scarf] and was going to return it," according to a police report.

Boman's alleged crime has placed her in infamous class of socialites and celebrities busted for shoplifting even though they, like Boman, had the means to pay for the items they stole.

Actress Lindsay Lohan, 24, was sentenced to jail for violating her probation after she allegedly stole a $2,500 necklace from a California jewelry designer earlier this year.

In 2001, actress Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting some $5,500 worth of designer clothes and accessories from the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills. Following a highly publicized trial, Ryder was convicted and sentenced to three years probation, 480 hours of community service and $10,000 in fines.

"People are still shocked that these women that seem to have the perfect life would get into trouble," Beverly Hills-based psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told ABC News. "But it shouldn't be so shocking."

"These are women that are trying to fill the emptiness that they have inside with objects," she said.

Before Boman, another well-known New York name, Guiliani, was in the spotlight for shoplifting too.

Last year, Caroline Giuliani, the daughter of former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, and then a 20-year-old Harvard student, was allegedly caught by a video surveillance camera taking about $100 worth of merchandise from Sephora, a beauty supply chain.

She later made a deal with prosecutors that would see the charges dropped if she meets certain conditions.

Boman was charged with first-degree larceny but released after posting $5,000 bail.

Her lawyer told the Greenwich Times on Wednesday that his client is innocent.

"Anybody who knows Beata knows she has no need and no reason to steal anything,'' attorney Mark Sherman told the Times."This was a mistake, plain and simple. There was no crime here and there was no intent to steal the scarf."

Sherman also told the Times that Boman was preoccupied while in the boutique because she was on the phone consoling a friend who was about to undergo brain surgery.

A Connecticut judge will decide what Boman's intent truly was, but Lieberman says the there is an emotional factor involved when wealthy people steal.

"There's an adrenaline rush," she said. "There's some kind of void in your life, something that you feel that you were entitled to. You don't have it, so you're going to take something that's somebody else's."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.