Document text
Sheriff wants Y case investigated By Jonel Aleccia A prominent law enforcement official and major funder of the Rogue Valley Family YMCA is calling for a police investigation into possible employee embezzlement at the agency. Jackson County Sheriff Bob Kennedy said Wednesday that he was surprised and frustrated that YMCA officials have declined to seek law enforcement help in locating $6,000 to $7,000 in apparently missing cash payments. "How do you know that it is missing money if you don�t investigate?" said Kennedy, who is also a board member for United Way, which allocates some $80,000 annually to the YMCA. "My budget is $17 million and if I was missing $6,000, we�d call the county auditor and I�d conduct an investigation," he said. No investigation has been initiated, Medford Police Lt. Tim George confirmed Wednesday. But he added that he expects a report to be filed in time. "Sooner or later, yeah. If I was them, I would," he said. "We would gladly investigate this case. We have the people and the know-how, but they�ve got to do it." YMCA General Director Mike Cronin has said that he�s confident his agency has corrected problems that apparently allowed someone to bypass internal computer systems and falsify cash receipts. A recent audit of a year�s worth of records showed "discrepancies in receipting," amounting to between $6,000 and $7,000, Cronin has said. "There is no acknowledgment in the audit that any money is missing," Cronin wrote in an Oct. 5 letter to 500 YMCA donors. An investigation would be too expensive and ultimately futile in identifying and prosecuting a potential thief or thieves from among some 25 current and former employees who had access to the computer system, YMCA officials contend. According to generally accepted accounting principles, the missing $6,000 to $7,000 is not a material amount in a $1.8 million budget, Cronin added. "We�re done with this," Cronin said Wednesday. But Cronin and other YMCA officials are scheduled to meet Oct. 25 with executive members of the United Way board to explain the matter, United Way director Dee Anne Everson said Wednesday. She said her agency has been applauded for taking a stand on the missing funds. "The biggest overriding question on behalf of our board is why they�re not doing more," she said. "The bottom line is it�s about public trust." One YMCA funding agency, the Oregon Community Foundation, has no plans to question officials about the missing money. The OCF has granted the YMCA at least $25,000 over the past two years, and local representative Bill Thorndike said Wednesday he�s confident the money is being spent appropriately. "It�s not like they�re cooking the books," he said. "The books were cooked by this." As a Medford businessman who�s been a victim of embezzlement, he said he sympathizes with YMCA officials� plight. When faced with the issue, he called in police. But Thorndike said it can be difficult, expensive and ultimately impossible to prove funds were taken. "I�d rather see the money being spent on helping abused kids," he said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.