Elected Lake Wales City Commissioner BETTY WOJCIK and Lakeashtontalk Blog Publisher Edmund King

Lake Wales Still Tallying Losses From Theft

Officials lower estimates of losses from illegal electronic withdrawals, but total is still likely at least $450,000.

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 3:59 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 3:59 a.m.

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LAKE WALES | Lake Wales may not have lost as much as was initially estimated in a recent computer theft of funds from city accounts.

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Delmar

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Gillis

Police Chief Herb Gillis told city commissioners Thursday the estimated loss totals $450,000. Initially, city administrators said more than $500,000 was pulled from city accounts through electronic withdrawals.

The city is trying to pin down the amount that was taken, City Manager Judy Delmar said. On Thursday, city administrators learned they have halted a pending transaction for an estimated $100,000, which lowered the estimated loss to about $450,000.

"What's happened here is the city has become the victim of identity theft," Gillis said.

But officials aren't any closer to identifying who might have taken the funds, or where the money went.

An accountant in the city's finance department discovered two withdrawals on Nov. 30 that appeared suspicious. Finance Director Dorothy Pendergrass contacted CenterState Bank and confirmed the accountant's suspicions, launching an investigation into the theft.

Delmar said Thursday the funds came from a general operating account, which still has about $2 million in it. She said the city has insurance coverage for theft up to $500,000, and in the meantime, the lost revenue won't put the city in financial peril.

Gillis said the State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are working with his department on the investigation.

"We're looking internally in the city and at the bank," he said, "and externally, as well."

He said they haven't eliminated anyone or group as suspects.

Since discovering the problem, Pendergrass has locked down all the city‘s accounts, and only she has the authority to manually approve payments. The city is enhancing its security measures, she said in a memo to city commissioners, and will replace the existing accounts with new ones.

Gillis said it could take several weeks for investigators to track down the theft. He declined to say whether the money was transferred to a single account or multiple accounts, and whether the money went to international funds.

When the theft was discovered, Delmar said she called the city commissioners individually last week and told them about the situation in confidence to protect the investigation.

On Thursday, Mayor Jack Van Sickle called a special meeting of the commission to address allegations that some commissioners had been discussing the case publicly, and specifically, the amount that was taken.

Commissioner Michael Carter said he felt the public had a right to know about the theft and how the city was handling it.

"More than half a million dollars has been taken from this city, and the citizens have a right to know that happened, and how it happened," he said during Thursday's meeting. "Citizens have a right to know that their money has been stolen. To try to hide and cover that up — I won't be a part of that."

Van Sickle said he agreed, but said that right shouldn't come at the expense of the criminal investigation.

"This is not public information we are keeping back," he said. "It's part of the investigation. We can't go out and be cowboys. When the city manager says please don't do it, we have to respect that."

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