Officials of local governments as well as school and community college districts have a duty to act in the best interests of their constituents. Too many officials are either unintentionally unaware or intentionally disregarding that duty and the penalties that can be imposed if they fail to diligently and honestly perform them. When those officials fail to diligently and impartially perform their oversight duties, dishonest insiders (usually trusted and long-time employees) exploit those failures for personal gain.
We have seen that in Kootenai County with the convictions of former Kootenai County Chief Deputy Clerk and Auditing Supervisor Sandra Martinson and former Coeur d’Alene City Finance Department Payroll Coordinator Sheryl Carroll. Recently former Athol City Clerk Sally Hansen has been charged in federal court with wire fraud and stealing approximately $400,000 from the city during her five years of employment.
But Idaho isn’t the only place where lax oversight by supervisors can lead to embezzlement and grand theft. In Pasadena, California, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Pastor Danny Wooten has been accused of embezzling over $5 million during the ten years he was working as a management analyst for the city of Pasadena. The January 15, 2015, Times article is headlined Pasadena embarrassed by charges that employee embezzled $5 million.
If you carefully read the Times article, you are going to see some of the same things we heard in the Martinson and Carroll cases. (more…)