The Baldwin city clerk fired for embezzling town funds won't have to spend 30 days in jail but must follow through with a plan to repay about $21,000, a judge has ruled.
Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone on Monday canceled a court hearing for Penni Porter later this week and indefinitely stayed her jail term.
Malone was scheduled to decide Friday if Porter should have to report to jail. Porter's attorney, David Brown, filed a motion on March 15 asking the judge to suspend the jail sentence, arguing that his client had worked out a tentative restitution plan.
On March 8, Porter began working full time, earning $10 an hour in a dental office, Brown stated in the motion.
Efforts to reach Baldwin Mayor Stan Krysztof for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
In November, he said Porter "basically got away" with misusing town coffers. Porter's actions messed up the city's books for quite a while, Krysztof said.
The incident also cost the city. City Administrator Larry Paine earlier told the Journal-World the city spent more than $40,000 on accountants and auditors to correct the red-tape nightmare.
Porter pleaded guilty to two counts of misuse of public funds and one count of making a false writing on Nov. 25. The city fired her June 1.
-- Deb Gruver's phone message number is 832-7165. Her e-mail address is dgruver@ljworld.com.
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