This conviction happened in Pinal County, Arizona in March, 2007 for fraud and embezzlement that started in 2000.
It seems the County manager used his authority starting in 2000 to take County fee payment checks and deposit them in a separate bank account he established, and spent the funds on himself. He used his authority to intimidate staff and ignored requests to close the bogus account.
He has to pay the funds back and may be spending up to 51 YEARS in prison.
Read the story for more... this guy was clearly a real con artist who thought he wouldn't be caught.
A good quote was from the attorney hired to investigate the fraud:
He said the case should send a message "to every government official: If they misuse public funds, they will be prosecuted."
vj
(Note: There was no mention of internal or external auditors - the case was discovered and expanded when the Sherrif's department investigated the County Manager's mis-use of $21,000 of county funds to buy personal firearms.)
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Here is a year end overview of the case, followed by an original article from March, 2007 with more details.
Pinal (Arizona) County manager is sentenced
In March, a judge sentenced former Pinal County Manager Stanley Griffis to 3½ years in prison for three counts of felony theft and fraud. Griffis used his financial expertise and position as a public official to steal more than $600,000 from the county. He bought rifles, remodeled his home and paid for two cars with the stolen funds.
The scandal shook up Pinal County and prompted public officials to update and revamp policies in an attempt to prevent future fraud.
from
http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/0308st-griffis03.html
Ex-Pinal manager admits fraud, to repay $600K
Dianna M. Náñez
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 8, 2007 04:13 PM
A public corruption inquiry that began with an investigation into former Pinal County Manager Stanley Griffis' misuse of $21,000 ballooned into a criminal indictment that left him pleading guilty to six felonies, agreeing to pay over half-a-million dollars in restitution and the possibility of serving up to 51 years in prison.
On Jan. 31, as part of a plea agreement, Griffis pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud, two counts of theft and one count of fraudulent tax preparation.
Griffis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10 before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas O'Toole.
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The charges against Griffis were announced at a news conference Feb. 21 by former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, whom Pinal County contracted to lead the investigation. Romley said charges were not immediately announced because the court, at the request of Griffis' attorney's, allowed Griffis time to deal with health issues stemming from a recent heart bypass.
Griffis has agreed to pay $639,035 in restitution to Pinal County and the Arizona Department of Revenue.Griffis' criminal charges were based on four main areas of illegal activity. He stole funds from the Superstition Valley Transportation Project, filed his taxes illegally, received improper county reimbursements and cited false wages to increase his pension plan.
The largest portion of the theft, $426,800, was stolen from the transportation project, a plan that created a county account that would hold funds assessed from home developers to assist the rapidly growing county with road improvements. Developers were charged an assessment fee per roof in exchange for concessions such as early zoning and protection from future fee increases.
On Jan. 26, 2000, Griffis opened an illegal personal bank account in the name of the Superstition Valley Transportation Project. Deposits from construction companies, home developers and others were placed in the account.
Soon after opening the account, Griffis began making withdrawals for personal use. Romley said that when county officials uncovered the account, which legally should have been handled by the Pinal County Public Works Department, they instructed Griffis that it was illegal and must be closed. In April 2002, Griffis presented a final bank statement and a receipt for the final transfer of funds to the county.
But Romley's investigation showed Griffis did not close the account. Instead, he changed the address for the statement to be mailed to his post office box.
Griffis continued to deposit a total of $426,800 in Pinal County funds into the account until February 2004. Romley said that the Pinal County Board of Supervisors authorized his access to all county records and that his investigation found no wrongdoing by other Pinal County employees.
"Griffis led . . . using fear," he said. "He gave orders to people who did not benefit (from his theft) and made it clear there would be repercussions (if his orders were not followed)."
Romley said it is possible that one Pinal County employee was fired because he refused to follow Griffis' orders.
As part of the plea agreement, Romley agreed not to pursue charges against Griffis' son, who received a check for $5,000; his wife, who signed tax returns; and his daughter, who was given property by developer George Johnson. Romley said Griffis' daughter reported that she had entered an oral agreement to repay Johnson for the property.
Romley said his investigation may have uncovered other areas of corruption, which could involve "special favors" Stanley Griffis bestowed upon housing developers. Should this lead to any criminal misconduct, Romley said, the state Attorney General's Office would be responsible for the investigation.
Romley was retained by Pinal County to investigate Griffis' misappropriation of public funds after a Sheriff's Office investigation revealed Griffis spent $21,000 in county money on rifles and ammunition for personal use.
As a result of the sheriff's investigation, Griffis was placed on administrative leave and then retired in January 2006. That same month, Romley launched his investigation, during which he found other illegal activity by Griffis.
Romley expanded the investigation to include a review of about 30,000 finance documents, e-mails and other public documents. Romley sought help from the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Arizona Auditor General's Office and the Arizona Department of Revenue to conduct the extensive review.
"This was a very complicated investigation . . . (of Griffis') complicated schemes," Romley said. He said the case should send a message "to every government official: If they misuse public funds, they will be prosecuted."
He cited the importance of public records in his ability to indict Griffis. He rebuked Griffis' current claim before the Arizona Supreme Court that e-mails he wrote on his county computer were private and should not be subject to a public records request by The Arizona Republic.
"Public records are a checks and balance for government," Romley said. "The e-mails were key to this investigation."