Probation for village thief is just, but leaders deserve scolding

Ambur Petty is now known as a thief. She will have a tough time getting another job after taking $2,850 while working as zoning clerk for the Village of Caseyville.

Some village leaders are upset she only got 30 months of probation for the theft.

"She stole from the village, stole from taxpayers. So after all the work to straighten this out, and she gets a slap on the wrist," Caseyville Trustee John Buckley said. "How sorry would she be if she hadn't been caught?"

It's easy to sympathize with Buckley, but Petty's record was clean before this. Petty didn't even have a traffic ticket that we could find in either St. Clair or Madison counties, although a younger person with her same name has been busy.

So probation is warranted for a first-time offender. We can't argue this one or criticize the judge for being lenient, although having to pay back more than she stole would have been nice. And, as we said, Petty's got a tough job hunt ahead of her.

Instead, we've got to take issue with the fact that Caseyville's financial controls were so weak that Petty got away with the thefts for six months.

"We've changed a lot of the procedures," Buckley said. "We didn't realize this would ever happen."

Didn't realize a government worker might be tempted by cash? Casinos, sex, booze, drugs and high lifestyles have all been embezzlement motives for scores of local government workers and leaders — from water districts to townships to counties.

Caseyville should have realized this could happen. Oversight, two signatures on checks, cash controls and looking at itemized bills are the responsibilities of elected leaders and fiscal officers.

Village leaders should put themselves on probation.

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Probation for village thief is just, but leaders deserve scolding."