Cheese, laxatives bring bad times in Palm City

Some of history's great pairings include Simon and Garfunkel, Laurel and Hardy and Bogey and Bacall.

The less storied combination of cheese and laxatives on Oct. 6 landed a 52-year-old Palm City woman behind bars, according to recently released records.

A loss prevention official at a Publix in the 2700 block of Southwest Martin Downs Boulevard told a Martin County Sheriff's deputy she watched Karen Bartlett hide cheese and lady's laxatives in a purse in the beauty aisle.

The loss prevention official stopped Bartlett as she was about to exit the store and recovered the items.

The cheese was identified as "Belgioio Slice Log" in sheriff's records. A Google search for "Belgioio Slice Log" turned up no results, but a Google search did reveal that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is said to have a cheese aversion.

In any case, "Belgioio" resembles the name of a Wisconsin-based company known as BelGioioso Cheese, which has five manufacturing facilities.

Logs of cheese can be sliced, or cut, and slices of cheese can be logged, or categorized, but a clear understanding of "slice log" could not immediately be obtained.

The women's laxatives in question were described as Publix brand. They were valued at $3.99, half that of the "Belgioio Slice Log."

The loss prevention official said it was a second offense for Bartlett and that Publix wanted to prosecute.

Bartlett, of the 3000 block of Southwest Sunset Trace Circle in Palm City, was arrested on a misdemeanor retail theft charge. She also was issued a trespass warning.