FROM: Bill Kearney
The Morning Call - June 28, 2013 - Former Wilson Lions Club treasurer sentenced for thefts
Stephen Williams repays the money, but will serve up to six months on theft charge.
He stole $45,200 from the Wilson Borough Lions Club, but unlike so many defendants in theft cases, he was able to pay it back.
...
Stephen Williams, 61, of Wilson was credited for that at sentencing Friday by Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito, who sent him to jail for three to six months on a felony theft charge, and granted him immediate work release.
"One of the most important things to this court is restitution. I've said it over and over," Zito said.
Williams, the treasurer of the Lions Club for a decade, wrote out checks for cash that he pocketed for just over a year ending in late 2011, police said. The amounts ranged from $2,000 to $7,000 per check and came amid a gambling addiction by Williams.
"I owe you big time," Williams told a board member after he was confronted, according to court records. "Help me."
Williams paid $5,000 back at his preliminary hearing, another $3,000 when he pleaded guilty in April and the remainder before sentencing. His defense attorney, Paul Aaroe, said his client has also voluntarily banned himself from casinos through the state's self-exclusion list.
"I regret doing it," Williams said in court of the thefts. "I have lost my house. I came close to losing my wife over this."
Assistant District Attorney James Augustine said the stolen funds forced the club, a non-profit, to cut its charitable programs. He said the thefts also risked damaging the club's reputation and its ability to raise money as a result.
Zito's sentence includes two years of probation once Williams completes his jail time. The defendant, who had been free on bail, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, with Zito rejecting Aaroe's request for a deferred reporting date.
http://www.mcall.com/news/
The Morning Call - June 28, 2013 - Former Wilson Lions Club treasurer sentenced for thefts
Stephen Williams repays the money, but will serve up to six months on theft charge.
He stole $45,200 from the Wilson Borough Lions Club, but unlike so many defendants in theft cases, he was able to pay it back.
...
Stephen Williams, 61, of Wilson was credited for that at sentencing Friday by Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito, who sent him to jail for three to six months on a felony theft charge, and granted him immediate work release.
"One of the most important things to this court is restitution. I've said it over and over," Zito said.
Williams, the treasurer of the Lions Club for a decade, wrote out checks for cash that he pocketed for just over a year ending in late 2011, police said. The amounts ranged from $2,000 to $7,000 per check and came amid a gambling addiction by Williams.
"I owe you big time," Williams told a board member after he was confronted, according to court records. "Help me."
Williams paid $5,000 back at his preliminary hearing, another $3,000 when he pleaded guilty in April and the remainder before sentencing. His defense attorney, Paul Aaroe, said his client has also voluntarily banned himself from casinos through the state's self-exclusion list.
"I regret doing it," Williams said in court of the thefts. "I have lost my house. I came close to losing my wife over this."
Assistant District Attorney James Augustine said the stolen funds forced the club, a non-profit, to cut its charitable programs. He said the thefts also risked damaging the club's reputation and its ability to raise money as a result.
Zito's sentence includes two years of probation once Williams completes his jail time. The defendant, who had been free on bail, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, with Zito rejecting Aaroe's request for a deferred reporting date.
http://www.mcall.com/news/
Stephen Williams repays the money, but will serve up to six months on theft charge.
He stole $45,200 from the Wilson Borough Lions Club, but unlike so many defendants in theft cases, he was able to pay it back.
...
Stephen Williams, 61, of Wilson was credited for that at sentencing Friday by Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito, who sent him to jail for three to six months on a felony theft charge, and granted him immediate work release.
"One of the most important things to this court is restitution. I've said it over and over," Zito said.
Williams, the treasurer of the Lions Club for a decade, wrote out checks for cash that he pocketed for just over a year ending in late 2011, police said. The amounts ranged from $2,000 to $7,000 per check and came amid a gambling addiction by Williams.
"I owe you big time," Williams told a board member after he was confronted, according to court records. "Help me."
Williams paid $5,000 back at his preliminary hearing, another $3,000 when he pleaded guilty in April and the remainder before sentencing. His defense attorney, Paul Aaroe, said his client has also voluntarily banned himself from casinos through the state's self-exclusion list.
"I regret doing it," Williams said in court of the thefts. "I have lost my house. I came close to losing my wife over this."
Assistant District Attorney James Augustine said the stolen funds forced the club, a non-profit, to cut its charitable programs. He said the thefts also risked damaging the club's reputation and its ability to raise money as a result.
Zito's sentence includes two years of probation once Williams completes his jail time. The defendant, who had been free on bail, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, with Zito rejecting Aaroe's request for a deferred reporting date.
http://www.mcall.com/news/
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