Jul 4, 2008 2:31 pm US/Central
Former Board Member Charged With Theft
NEW PRAGUE, Minn. (AP) ―
A former Le Center school board member is denying charges that she scammed the city of New Prague out of more than $18,000 while she worked there.
Scott County prosecutors filed three counts of felony theft by swindle earlier this week against Kathleen Marie Novotny of Le Center.
Her attorney, Allen Eskens, says she denies the allegations and will vigorously fight them in court.
Prosecutors claim that while Novotny was working as an accounting technician for the city she paid herself the money for unauthorized work from 2005-2007.
It's also alleged that she gave herself another 48 hours of vacation time.
Novotny told investigators that she had authorization for the extra work, but her supervisors denied it.
A routine audit turned up payroll discrepancies, which were brought to the sheriff's office on April 9. Later that month, Novotny resigned from her city job and the school board.
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