Former Ortonville Clerk/Treasurer Mary Clark was sentenced Sept. 21 to 12 months of probation and 100 hours of community service by 52-2 District Court Judge Joseph Fabrizio.
Clark pleaded no contest in May to charges of willful neglect of duty by a public officer.
Clark’s defense attorney, Josh West, said she will be be enrolled in the first offender program and if she successfully completes probation, the case will be dismissed, giving Clark a clean record. In addition to the probation and community service, Clark must pay $650 in courts fines and costs and pay $1,588 in restitution.
West called the sentence ‘fair.?
‘It was an appropriate sentence based on all the facts of the case that were presented,? he said. ‘With any case, you have to make a decision based on strategy, and this was the best resolution for the client. I don’t think anyone is happy with this situation, but she has accepted it and is looking forward to complying with the orders of the judge and closing this chapter of her life.? Council President Ken Quisenberry could not be reached for comment. Councilmembers Kay Green and Harold Batten declined comment.
Clark served as the Ortonville clerk/treasurer from 2003 until she resigned in November 2007 amidst an investigation into her accounting practices.
An audit by Lewis & Knopf confirmed inadequacies, and Quisenberry said at the time that checks made out to the village 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, 2008, 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.
She had no explanation for the missing funds.