Joy Slatton indicted for theft, official misconduct: Trustee faces charges along with her daughter
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The indictments charge Slatton with theft of property, official misconduct and tampering with governmental records. Her daughter, Gaye Lentz, a former trustee office employee, is named in four of the indictments and she was also booked Monday.
The indictments charge Slatton with falsifying timecards to pay employees for time they did not actually work. Specifically, the indictments say Slatton approved paying over $30,000 to her daughter, Rene Brown, for time she did not work. Slatton is charged with paying over $4,000 to Lentz after she ended her employment at the trustee?s office but continued to draw a paycheck.
?This is one of those cases you hate to see happen, especially with someone who has served so many years,? said District Attorney Dale Potter. ?Unfortunately the way some of these county offices are set up it makes it hard for the public to be aware of what goes on.?
The charge of theft of property over $10,000 but less than $60,000 is a class C felony punishable by eight to 12 years in prison. The charge of official misconduct is a class E felony that carries a one- to two-year sentence. Tampering with government records is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 11 months, 29 days in jail.
Because Slatton has no prior criminal record, Potter says the most time she could realistically face is eight to 12 years since all the sentences would most likely be run concurrently, or at the same time.
However, Potter also said there is a possibility Slatton could be offered a judicial diversion if she simply agrees to repay the county the money she allegedly misappropriated.
Potter also said he is recusing himself from the case because he was married to Lentz for less than a year in 1992, meaning Slatton is his former mother-in-law.
Slatton?s attorney, Michael Galligan, adamantly maintains his client?s innocence.
?It is my client?s position that she?s not guilty of anything and that an indictment is simply a piece of paper,? said Galligan. ?She is surprised her former son-in-law has presented this case to the grand jury. When the facts come out, they will show she is not guilty of any crime.?
Slatton?s first court appearance is scheduled for May 24. She and her daughter were both released from jail on their own recognizance, which means they did not have to post bond.
The charges against Slatton indicate she approved paying her daughter, Jamie Rene Brown, over $30,000 for hours she did not work from July 1, 2004 to July 29, 2005. Brown had worked in the trustee?s office but had become ill and passed away Aug. 1, 2005.
The official misconduct indictment is for an ?unauthorized exercise of official power? for allegedly having knowledge of the payments to her daughter.
Twenty-nine of the indictments for tampering with government records are for knowingly making a false entry, or false alteration, to Brown?s timesheet.
Lentz also worked at the trustee?s office but left employment there. The indictments claim after Lentz was no longer an employee, she continued to be paid from January to March 2001.
In the final indictment, Slatton is charged with making a false entry to the timesheet of current trustee employee Anita Nunley during the pay period that ended Dec. 2, 2005. It is alleged Slatton allowed Nunley to use sick days to take an out-of-country vacation that was planned well in advance, according to Potter.
Slatton announced last year she would not be seeking a seventh term in office. Darlene Bryant won the Democratic primary last week and she will face independent Kim Broom in August to determine who will be the next county trustee.
? Trustee is elected to serve a four-year term
? The salary is $56,048
? Slatton has been elected six times and has served 24 years
? The trustee?s office acts as the county bank. State and federal school funds come through this office. It collects county property taxes