If I steal $124,000 from my employer, will a City Councillor help defend me ?

[Flugel Horn]

Daily News story today:

- a few quotes:

A 35-year-old Nanaimo woman got a conditional sentence of two years less a day and was ordered to pay back more than $124,000 she stole while doing bookkeeping work.

Allison Cooney was sentenced in provincial court in Nanaimo on Wednesday

A mother of four children, she has no prior criminal record and currently works as controller and office manager for the Nanaimo Clippers junior A hockey club.

Several reference letters were submitted on Cooney's behalf but one "of greatest weight," said Dohm, was written by Clippers coach/GM and city councillor Bill Bestwick.
Bestwick was in court on Wednesday to show his support, which Dohm said was "remarkable" and rare

Full story here:
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailyn...9-7b146e7f939f

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So, is it ok to steal $124,000 from someone ?

And how stupid or wise is it for a business/organization to employ a convicted criminal embezzler? Someone must be colour-blind to not see the giant red-flag.

And if you buy a Nanaimo Clippers ticket or if you are a business that pays sponsorship or advertising fees to the team, what are the chances that at some point you might be financing a further theft? Once an embezzler, always an embezzler?

Think about it: A high profile organization employs a convicted embezzler as a financial-controller / business-manager. And we thought that the main concerns were on-ice for the Clippers....

[Oscar]

How do you guys think this might reflect on Bestwick's future political career? Defending a convicted criminal in court as a current city councillor/part owner of what's in essence, a youth sports organization?

[Nostradama]

in my opinion and experience to write a letter or to testiify on behalf of someone who's been convicted of a crime, trying to reduce the severity of the sentence, or to testify at the person's trial before they're convicted, talking about what a fine person they really are. Not something I would do, I believe, although I suppose it would depend on the circumstances. Example: if a female friend, years ago, had killed her husband with a frying pan or a butcher knife, I'd have testified for her. She'd put up with several years of beatings, finally left with their kids and now lives about as far east as she can get and still be in Canada.

Bill Bestwick has the right to do what he did, and after all, the Clippers are a privately-owned company, so public funds aren't involved, as far as I know. However, I still think "unwise". But with six months' house arrest and two years' probation, I think it's unlikely she'll ever be doing the same kind of job ever again, for the Clippers or anyone else. No bonding company is going to provide bonding/insurance on her as a convicted felon.

I'm not breaking any laws or any code of ethics by posting about the following, because anyone patient and persistent enough could dig through archives and discover all of this--it's a matter of public record. I once had no choice but to be involved in the trial of a child molester (male teacher, middle-aged, married, had kids, sexually abused little boys). During the trial the principal of the school actually testified about the "good citizenship" of this scum ball, who was convicted and served time. None of the little boys lived in this area, and the offences took place in the Victoria area during the summer. Doesn't matter to me--that doesn't make any difference.

But I never felt the same about the principal who testified on behalf of this guy, and I don't think any other teachers did either. Put someone like that up in front of a jury full of teachers and we'd bring back the death penalty all on our own. Very quickly and right out in the parking lot if possible. Any teacher does anything like that to a kid, and a lot of us feel like some of the scum got splashed on us, too.

I don't know all the details of this case, so I'm not going to judge Bill Bestwick, but it's not something I'd do, unless I absolutely, totally believed I was doing the right thing.

[All Ages Music Concerts]

Well in reading the news about this the first thing after reading it all this is what came to my mind.

Allison says she can not account as to where the $124,000. went. Could it be that she is taking the full fall for somone/s that may have also been involved????

Court heard Cooney was unable to explain where the money went, except to say it helped fund her business and assist her sister.

Maybe her business assets should be seized?

[kittahmunhaPromotions]

Well in reading the news about this the first thing after reading it all this is what came to my mind.

Allison says she can not account as to where the $124,000. went. Could it be that she is taking the full fall for somone/s that may have also been involved????

Court heard Cooney was unable to explain where the money went, except to say it helped fund her business and assist her sister.

Maybe her business assets should be seized?

more like her wages, any monies frm the government and anything incoming income should be garnished.

haha i wonder who she is sleeping with to take the full responsibility

[Flugel Horn]

Totally unrelated to this Nanaimo story is the story of the Kamloops Blazers WHL hockey team, and their business manager (Ms. Maxine Patrick) who stole over $1million from that hockey team.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2006/08/f...heft-from.html

[Nostradama]

Totally unrelated to this Nanaimo story is the story of the Kamloops Blazers WHL hockey team, and their business manager (Ms. Maxine Patrick) who stole over $1million from that hockey team.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2006/08/f...heft-from.html

Here's part of the back story on this. One of the owners, at least a partial owner and certainly still a part-owner of the Kamloops Blazers, is a well-known Kamloops lawyer who is a former law partner of Bud Smith, once BC's attorney general in a Socred government. Three partners in the practice: Bud Smith, the part-owner of the hockey team, and Bud Smith's lawyer-wife, Daphne. Marriage broke up years ago, Daphne Smith eventually became a judge. This woman then steals money from the Kamloops Blazers and goes up in front of Daphne Smith, who has to have known someone possibly affected by the theft, who was her former law partner. I realize this news story says there was only one owner. It may have appeared that way, may have been the case when this happened, but her former law partner has been an in-and-out owner of the Blazers since the early 1980s. I'm just surprised that Daphne Smith didn't "recuse" herself as the judge in the case, if at the time the theft had affected her former law partner and friend.

[Flugel Horn]

A couple of things to mention about the Daily News stories re this:

1) The reader-comments section in the 1st story (linked above) are pretty extensive now, and are an interesting read.

2) The Daily News did a follow-up story today. Find it here:
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailyn...6-b4729bba0816

Here's a part of the 2nd D'News story that I found interesting:

Team officials say despite reference checks, they had no idea of the police investigation against Cooney when she began working with the Clippers this spring, beating out two or three others throughout the interview process.

It was not until July, when Cooney pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000, that the organization became aware of criminal activity and team officials say they did not know the extent of the fraud.

They had discussed Cooney's employment, collectively feeling that based on her exemplary work, commitment and dedication that they would continue to support her as an employee. They had a similar discussion after the sentencing this week.

and a Bill Bestwick quote:

"Because of the public outfall of negativity toward us, me, the organization, obviously we feel as though we're obliged (to comment) now, although we never intended to respond, to get our position at least as straight as we can," said Bestwick on Friday.

"Obviously we do not condone the actions and we fully support the legal system in ensuring she fulfills her consequences and restitution.

"She hasn't betrayed us. We're giving her an opportunity to re-establish her life."

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My opinion: I think that this lady needs to re-invent her life in a different career. Continuing on in a finance role is not appropriate for a convicted embezzler.
- that's similar to a recovering alcoholic going to the bar with friends each night.

[All Ages Music Concerts]

My opinion: I think that this lady needs to re-invent her life in a different career. Continuing on in a finance role is not appropriate for a convicted embezzler.
- that's similar to a recovering alcoholic going to the bar with friends each night.

I agree. If they want to keep her employed they should find an alternative position outside of finance or anything that allows her to handle cash. She made a big mistake but it was a mistake that was made over and over to accumalate the $124,000. +. Just like some gamblers they become addicted without knowing it before it is too late.

I am surprised she would even apply for a new job in this field when she knew she was already under investigation and knowing she was guilty of embezzling. Was she going to make the Clippers the next target?

Alot of embezzlers are excellent at their job that is why it can take years for it to be uncovered or never discovered.

[Nostradama]

what her qualifications are? If she was a CGA or a CA, a conviction for embezzlement is likely to result in having either of those designations stripped, since she's now unable to practise in the financial area and she's broken the cardinal rule of those organizations. She's "unbondable"--no insurance company is going to bond her, in effect insuring her honesty and lack of likelihood to embezzle, since she so obviously has.

I realize that Bill Bestwick is a minority owner of the Clippers. I really wonder what other world Wagner, who's made the latest statement about her conviction, lives in, when he talks about continuing her employment. What's she going to do for the Clippers organization? It will certainly have to be an area in which there's no working with money involved. So that leaves stick boy, trainer, skate sharpener? That's not cruelty or sarcasm, that's the reality of the situation, unless the owners of the Clippers are willing to take a chance on an unbondable employee with a track record of embezzlement.

If she continues to work for the Clippers organization, she'll have to be working from home because she's under six months' house arrest. Technically, if she drives to a 7 - 11 to pick up a loaf of bread without the permission of her probation officer, she'll be locked up.

Wagner and possible other owners of the Clippers, holding much larger interests in the Clippers organization than Bill Bestwick holds, have set him up like a duck in a carnival shooting gallery. Did they intend to do that? Did they realize at the time they decided to support this women to this degree what they would be doing to Bestwick? Did they anticipate the huge public uproar that's resulted from their public support of this woman? From the tone of many newspaper comments, it's possible that ticket sales revenue will drop if people follow through on their threats to stop supporting the Clippers, and aren't simply shooting from the lip in a moment of anger. Did the Clippers' owners anticipate the reaction that's being shown?

I believe that Bestwick has probably received offers from other teams from time to time, and has refused them. Sure, they've had a bit of a bumpy start this season, but Bestwick is a known entity. Do the other owners, the real decision makers, want to take the chance of losing Bestwick?

On the other hand, having had their offer to build a metroplex on part of the property adjacent to the Assembly Wharf property turned down by city council, are the Clippers' owners looking for an excuse to pull the Clippers out of Nanaimo?

I don't think we'll ever know the full story here.