Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Former bookkeeper to pay fine and will serve one day in jail
Former bookkeeper to pay fine and will serve one day in jail
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 2, 2007
Detroit — A St. Clair Shores resident convicted of embezzling thousands of dollars from St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Hazel Park, was able to pay $30,000 toward restitution Tuesday.
Janice A. Labroski must pay the remaining $53,247 out of future employment, which she was ordered by Oakland County Circuit Judge Rae Lee Chabot to maintain. She was also sentenced to one day in jail, 36 months probation, and court fees; she may not enter St. Mary Magdalen Church or work in a position where she would control other people's money, among other restrictions.
Labroski, formerly the business manager of St. Mary Magdalen, avoided further incarceration by producing the $30,000, although sentencing had been delayed twice to allow her to do so.
Labroski had been St. Mary Magdalen's business manager for six years when she abruptly left the job in late 2006 after repeated questions had arisen about unpaid bills. An audit conducted by the archdiocesan Department of Finance and Administration concluded early this year there was a shortage of at least $90,000 in parish accounts.
According to the police report, Labroski apparently issued checks to herself or her husband from church accounts, using a rubber stamp of the signature of pastor Fr. Bede Louzon, OFM Cap.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has a series of internal controls in regard to parish-based financials. The archdiocese conducts full audits of parishes and schools whenever there is a change of pastor, whenever an audit is requested by a regional bishop, or if the Department of Finance and Administration's analysis of financial information submitted to it determines an audit is required. Limited audits will also be conducted of every parish at least once every three years.
About half of archdiocesan embezzlement cases were discovered as a result of the financial controls and auditing procedures, and the rest were discovered as a result of tips from concerned parishioners who suspected something was amiss.
Related Links:
|
