Friday, July 5, 2019

Embezzlement


The stories of my family moving to Detroit is being interrupted. I have a humorous and sad tale to tell.

Quite by accident we found out some news about our little town. The former city clerk was the person available part-time to ask questions about city functions. She arranged meetings of the city council and mayor. She collected utility bills for electricity, water, and trash collection. She applied for grant money to make improvements on city properties.

The clerk also worked at the bank in the next town where we do our banking.

I thought there might be something strange when we were looking at a house across the corner from us that we were thinking of purchasing. The man we spoke to told us he was married to the city clerk.

The bank she worked at received notices of properties that would be foreclosed. She would tell her husbsnd and he would buy them as they went on the market. Then he would renovate them and resell them for a profit. That sounds similar to insider trading to me. Insider trading is illegal.

But that is not what this is about. It seems that she embezzled about $75,000 dollars from our tiny little town. Apparently she did not record all the monthly utility payments as being paid.

I jokingly said, "That is why that fire at the city hall happened!"

Guess what. In an apparent attempt to destroy records a fire was set. Investigation showed that the fire started on her desk near the computer.

Since I had been forced by the city to have some electrical work done outside my house I laughed when the fire happened. After all there was nothing wrong with my electricity but I faced severe fines by the city if I did not have it 'fixed'. It cost me $1800. It was Karma.

The city hall was closed for more than a year as they raised the money and made the repairs. It has re-opened and we have a new city clerk. I hope she is honest.

In the meantime the former mayor has moved away. We have a new mayor. We also have all new city council members.

How was your day?

26 comments:

  1. Wow what going on, just shows people who you think are trustworthy might not be after all :-) Keep well Diane

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    1. We thought we left government official corruption behind when we came here.

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  2. Actually Emma my day was petty good and then i read this post and had to smile at the pay-back. Sad that things like this happen even in smaller towns.

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    1. It is sad. I wonder why a person would jeopardize their freedom and good name for something like this.

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  3. I see things like this in our local paper all the time. At first I think that they are desperate people but more often than not it is about greed and their wants (with other people’s money).

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  4. The things that go on in small towns...it must be this way all over the country.

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  5. It's an easy thing to happen in a small community, where all are known and generally trusted.

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  6. I don't know if it necessary small or large town. But I don't get dishonesty.
    Coffee is on

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    1. I am with you. I do not drink coffee. Can I bring a teabag?

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  7. Dear Emma, I sympathize. My own city, the Capital of California, has been hoodwinked several times. I do not know if hoodwinking is considered a crime of moral turpitude (other than by my estimation) but I don't think the perpetrators should be allowed to vote any more.

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    1. When we lived in Detroit we had several mayors who were not as honest with our tax money as they should have been. One is still in prison for part of what he did. I simply did not expect it in a little town that does not even have a grocery store.

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  8. Grrr. In our small town, half the town was married to the other half, with some outsiders thrown in. But, still. It could easily happen in one form or another.

    Her comeuppance will happen in one way or another.

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    1. We are a population of less than 400. That was a lot of money for such a little place.

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  9. this is sad that she tricked your town dear Emma but actually she tricked herself
    whatever she gained with fraud she will pay it back somehow some way sooner or later i believe

    few years back we also heard new of such fake fire ,that was lit to waste evidences against the company that owned a politician

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    1. Fires like that all too often. In the case of our town officials were able to retrieve most of the data they were looking for.

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  10. Well, she did get her comeuppance in the end. :-)

    Greetings from London.

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  11. Dishonest officers and corruption are the beginning of destruction because many don't anything about bring victims as well. I follow your blog now. Thx

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  12. It's sad to know there are people in the government who take advantage of their position, but just like what you said, karma goes back to them. Thanks for visiting my blog again :) and I am glad to be back here again. :)

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    1. I am glad you feel like writing again. It is sometimes hard.

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  13. How can they live with themselves?

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    1. I do not know. Perhaps the extra money makes them feel justified?

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