Gambling addiction sends ex-police chief to prison

Gambling addiction sends ex-police chief to prison

GREENSBURG, Ind. — The former police chief of a southeastern Indiana city has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing $75,000 in cash that officers seized during criminal investigations.

A Decatur County judge sentenced 49-year-old Stacey L. Chasteen on Tuesday to four years in prison, with two years suspended. She will serve two years on probation and must pay back the missing money.

The Greensburg Daily News reports Chasteen pleaded guilty in March to charges of theft and official misconduct.

She served as police chief of Greensburg, a city of about 12,000 residents, from February 2011 to November 2014. Chasteen admitted to stealing $75,000 in cash from the department's evidence room and using it to gamble.

She testified she developed a gambling addiction as her marriage crumbled.