Janice Peterson - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 11:00 pm
A former town clerk convicted of forging checks and depositing thousands of dollars of city money into her own account was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in the Utah County Jail.
Traci Wright, former clerk for the town of Genola, pleaded guilty in September to three counts of misusing public money, a second-degree felony, and three counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. As part of a plea agreement, 21 additional charges were dropped and Wright will spend 70 days of her sentence on a work diversion GPS system.
Wright resigned after 12 years of service in September 2007 after irregularities were found in the town's finances. City officials estimated that upwards of $240,000 had been taken, $104,000 of which was returned when Wright pleaded guilty. During her sentencing, Wright's attorney, Michael Petro, said his client wants to be able to pay back all of the money and refinanced her home in order to pay the $104,000.
"As we sit here today, I think the prospect of Genola City receiving all of the money is excellent," Petro said.
Petro asked Judge Steven Hansen for leniency Tuesday, saying Wright has never been convicted of a crime of any kind prior to the incident. Petro said Wright should not serve any jail time so she will be able to work and pay back the money.
"We would like the court to consider allowing her to serve the entire time on work diversion," he said.
Wright tearfully read a written statement before her sentencing, saying she hopes she will one day be able to pay back everything she has taken. Wright said she is sorry for everything she has done and wants to make amends.
"I've let down my family, but most of all the community of Genola," she said.
Deputy county attorney Ryan Peters said Wright has paid back a lot of money, but she has a lot to pay back yet. The deception likely went on longer than the charges represent, and Wright held a position of trust in the community.
"This crime involved a huge amount of money to a small town, and the deception went on for years," he said.
Peters said he thought Wright should serve some jail time for the crimes instead of a GPS system for the entire time. Because of Wright's standing in the community and the degree of trust she held, some time in jail was warranted.
"The state would request that the 20 days of jail time be imposed as straight jail time," he said.
Hansen said that in this instance, he completely agreed with the prosecution. The case involved a lot of deceit for a long time, he said. Hansen said it is good that Wright has paid back nearly half the money, but the crime has not been paid for completely.
"That does not diminish the fact that the public trust was violated," he said.SClBHansen handed down a sentence of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for each second-degree felony, zero to five years for each third-degree felony and probation for 36 months. The sentence has been suspended in lieu of a 20-day term in the Utah County Jail and 70 days on GPS monitoring.
Petro asked that Wright be able report by 5 p.m. on Oct. 31 so that she can attend her grandmother's funeral, but Hansen refused.
"You are to appear here, forthwith, right now," he said.
Hansen gave Wright a few minutes to prepare before being taken to jail and awarded her an eight-hour release Thursday for the funeral. Hansen said it is his policy to grant a release for funerals, but it is also his policy for sentences to be carried out immediately.
"There is no reason why you should be treated any differently from anyone else in my courtroom," he said.
Genola Mayor Eric Hazelet said he has not heard any negative feedback from the town about the plea agreement. While the deception is hard for the town, Hazelet said the agreement will offer some closure to residents. Adjustments have been made as a result of the missing money, but no projects have needed to be canceled.
"We've had to be a little more frugal, and we've changed some project dates," Hazelet said.
The town now has two town clerks, one of whom performs a four-hour audit every week and has 19 years of experience with Zions Bank. New software is also in place now to formalize the process. Hazelet said the adjustments have been positive for the town and the auditing has been successful.
Hazelet said the $104,000 the town has gotten back was put immediately into the cemetery fund and used for projects to which it should have gone in the first place.
"We need to get the funds back, and we've been really pleased with her efforts," he said.