A former Ortonville clerk/treasurer has been charged with willful neglect of duty by a public officer after money she received from two village taxpayers was never deposited.
Mary Elizabeth Clark, 55, was arraigned on the charge, as well as an alternative count of willful neglect of duty by a public officer, on Dec. 22 in front of 52-2 District Court Magistrate Chiappelli and released on a $1,000 personal bond. No other charges are planned.
‘My client is maintaining her innocence at this point,? said Defense Attorney Josh West, who was retained by Clark on Jan. 9. On Monday, West was granted a 30-day adjournment by 52-2 Judge Joseph Fabrizio to review discovery in the case. Clark had no comment.
The Oxford resident was employed by the village of Ortonville in 2003 and served as clerk/treasurer until she resigned in November 2007 amidst an investigation into her accounting practices. An audit by Lewis & Knopf confirmed inadequacies and Village Council President Ken Quisenberry said at the time that checks made out to the village that had not been cashed and were placed in a filing cabinet. The checks were eventually cashed, but some had been around for a period of time.
No criminal investigation was planned at the time of her resignation, but on June 13, Quisenberry contacted the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and filed a complaint of suspected embezzlement by Clark after two village residents who paid their taxes in cash to the former treasurer received a late notice from the county.
According to police reports, the taxpayers had receipts showing they had paid their bills on time, in July and September of 2007, respectively. Clark had collected a total of $1,387.52 from the two residents, but never recorded the transactions.
‘They came into the village office and said they had a late notice, but they paid their taxes and there was their receipt,? said Quisenberry. ‘She gave them a receipt and the money went into Mary Clark’s pocket and she didn’t do the proper recording on our end that should have been done…It turned out that not only was she doing poor work, she was stealing money.?
Following a police interview, it was determined that Clark recorded tax payments after money was deposited in the bank, and not at the time the money was received. The money in question was never deposited, resulting in delinquent notices for the two taxpayers. Clark had no explanation for the missing funds and a polygraph examination was scheduled, but she failed to show for the test.
‘It’s a shame when we put our trust in people to do a job that they are being paid for and they don’t perform their job duties in a professional manner,? said Councilmember Kay Green. ‘I feel terrible for the two residents, that this adversely affected them.?
Quisenberry said the village paid the residents? tax bills from general fund balance as soon as they were notified there was a problem, at a cost of about $1800 including interest to the county treasurer. The village, he said, will insist on restitution from Clark.
Both Quisenberry and Green noted that the village continues to accept cash payments for tax bills, but more checks and balances are in place. The village council replaced Clark’s full-time position with two part-time ones. Julie Alexander is now clerk, Larry Brown is treasurer and Diana Bertapelle also works part-time in the office, with one receiving payments, one recording, and another putting the information in the computer.
A pre-trial conference for Clark has been rescheduled for 1:30 p.m., Feb. 9, in front of Judge Fabrizio.
‘We charged her with everything we could,? said OCSO Captain Mark Newman. ‘We presented the case and the prosecutor’s office decided (the willful neglect of duty charges) were the most appropriate charges. We’ll see how it plays out in court, if it gets that far.?
A front page headline in the Jan. 10 edition of The Oakland Press which declared, ‘Former Ortonville treasurer faces embezzlement charges? is false. Officials from the prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s office have both said no further charges are planned.
When told about the headline, West had this to say: ‘It concerns me greatly that The Oakland Press is printing misinformation. Mary Clark has not been charged with embezzlement. I plan on discussing the article with her.?