|
Read News
|
Pocono News Section
Police Say Secretary Stole 171K from Fire Company
Police Say Secretary Stole 171K from Fire Company - Monday, May 11, 2009 at 5:30PM EST
Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Monday, May 11, 2009 @ 05:30pm EST
Muncy, Lycoming County-
Nearly $200,000 was stolen from a volunteer fire department in Muncy. And police say the woman who was supposed to be in charge of the money is responsible.
37-year-old Nichole Lee Rupert was the paid secretary for the Keystone Hook and Ladder Company in Muncy. But police say she was cashing in for much more than that.
According to investigators, Rupert swindled $171,000 from the company over the past four years.
Word of the thefts outraged people in the community.
Shirley Lose, of Muncy Creek Township, noted, “You give these people your money and you expect them to use it the way it’s supposed to be used and instead they use it for their own purposes.”
And that’s exactly what police say she did. Court papers show Rupert used the money for everything from house and car payments, to credit card debt- even signing other people’s names to the checks she wrote.
She now faces more than 1,100 counts of forgery, theft, and receiving stolen property.
People we spoke with say these cases are becoming so common, they’re not too surprised. But they want those responsible to be punished.
Lose explained, “I really feel that if somebody does this and they steal that kind of money they need to go to prison. They need to pay it back. Just a slap on the wrist isn’t going to stop it.”
And perhaps most troublesome is the doubt people now say they feel when giving to charities.
Lose added, “It makes you afraid to donate money to any organization because they’re just doing it everywhere.”
Nichole Rupert is locked up on more than $100,000 bail.
Officials with Keystone Hook and Ladder could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
| | |
|
|
|