The wife of Little League’s treasurer stole $35,000 from the organization. Treasurer Dennis Steljes was charged initially, but it turns out he knew nothing about it. #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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It’s amazing how much of that sort of thing happens to nonprofit organizations. If banks would get on the ball and offer multiple login roles for online banking, this problem could disappear overnight.
Okay, I want to see what this woman’s sentence for embezzling is/will be for stealing 35k compared to This woman’s sentence for stealing 24k and compared to Comer’s sentence (which was put off from it’s originally scheduled date of April 2010) for stealing 600k.
When they do finally sentence Comer I hope Cvillenews will compare and contrast the 3 different jail terms (or lack thereof).
@Jim Wolf: Since this was the wife of the treasurer, I don’t think account roles would have helped — she probably used his saved password in the web browser.
Er, well, *could* have. I guess she used cashier checks instead — again with having access to what her husband had access to.
Bad idea, Just Bob. There are many reasons for differing penalties which the public neither knows nor could appreciate if they knew.
One example of someone who earns leniency: a cooperative perp who pleads guilty, supplies the necessary details for the prosecutor to make the case and trace the missing money, and has potential for paying back what he stole.
A lot less cost to the taxpayer and expenditure of effort there than the lying perp who denies she did it and challenges the prosecution to prove the charge.
An offer of a deal, perhaps even probation rather than jail, is one of the ways of making a perp cooperative.
As a taxpayer, I don’t want an ignorant public involved in such decisions or passing judgment on what is beyond their experience. That’s the role of the legal community.
Well in this situation you wouldn’t get that. And I wouldn’t consider Waldo “the Ignorant Public.” But it’s clear you do.
What I think you’d get would be a post comparing and contrasting the decisions made- so that the ignorant unwashed masses could offer their ignorant unwashed opinions- and hopefully hold elected officials accountable for any double standards where appropriate.
I certainly think that there’s value in drawing a comparison, if only so that people can understand the circumstances under which different sentences are handed down. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve learned when I’ve gone through that very exercise a couple of times before. Jiles, the very premise of our legal system is that it is based on decisions rendered by a jury of peers (aka “an ignorant public” :) using information that is public, with a decision that is public. Besides, isn’t education the best cure for ignorance?
“As a taxpayer, I don’t want an ignorant public involved in such decisions or passing judgment on what is beyond their experience. That’s the role of the legal community.”
This certainly smacks of arrogance. This person doesn’t want the public to pass judgment on our legal system?
Three words: This is America.