When formerly law-abiding citizens get hooked

Century Village condo board president charged with stealing $33,000 from association
By Eliot Kleinberg Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

For most of the seven years she was president of a Century Village condo board, Rosemary Leslie Darrigan systematically bled more than $33,000 from its accounts to feed her gambling addiction, authorities say.

Darrigan, 71, arrested Monday morning, now is charged with larceny of between $20,000 and $100,000.

According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's affidavit, on June 23, Darrigan told a detective "she got into gambling and it got really bad."

The report said Darrigan admitted, "I took some money," but said she believed it was only about $18,000 or $19,000.

According to the report, the embezzlement unraveled when another retiree, Patricia Cobus, volunteered in early 2009 to join the board of the 26-unit Camden H condo association, one of hundreds at the sprawling Century Village complex in suburban West Palm Beach.

When Cobus asked to see the year-end finances, she was told they were unavailable. She did some research on her own and found Darrigan had herself not paid condo fees for two years.

Cobus took that to the board, which booted Darrigan and made Cobus president, the report said.

Once Darrigan handed over the books, Cobus learned two association bank accounts had been closed because of overdrafts.

An audit revealed that, since 2005, Darrigan had been signing association management firm checks over to herself and putting the money in her personal account.

She then used them to pay utility bills and her credit card, buy groceries, and cover debit purchases and cash withdrawals, the report said.

The total: $33,673.25.

This morning, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Krista Marx ordered Darrigan released on her own recognizance.