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Sentencing ends ordeal for YMCA DA: Employee stole out of greed, revenge By JONEL ALECCIA Until late 1997, Karen Vezina was a model employee at the Rogue Valley Family YMCA, a prosecutor said Wednesday. But frustrations with management, including then-director Mike Murphy, led the former administrator to start taking cash from the Medford agency's till. Vezina told investigators she committed nearly 20 thefts from 1998 to 2000 in increments ranging from $20 to $155. "She stole out of greed disguised as revenge," Deputy District Attorney Karen Loomis told a crowded Jackson County courtroom. Vezina's revenge turned to remorse Wednesday, when the 38-year-old Jacksonville woman was convicted on one felony charge of first-degree theft. A second identical charge was dismissed. "It was an act against my own moral ethics," a tearful Vezina told Judge Patricia Crain. Crain sentenced Vezina to 124 hours of community service, 18 months of supervised probation and a fine of $105. The former worker already had paid restitution of $7,000 to the YMCA, more than the $4,387.78 investigators proved was missing. But the judge did not reduce the crime to an immediate misdemeanor, as Vezina's attorney, Jeni Feinberg, requested. Nor did she force Vezina to serve 10 days in the Jackson County Jail, as Loomis requested. Instead, Crain acknowledged a difficult compromise. "You've done lots of good in the community," Crain said, holding a stack of letters testifying on behalf of Vezina. "On the other hand, you hurt people. The Y depends on its reputation in the community and you betrayed that trust." Upon successful completion of probation, Vezina's felony conviction may be reduced to a misdemeanor. Crain's decision concludes a yearlong ordeal that began in spring 2000 when YMCA officials suspected embezzlement of $6,000 to $8,000. An internal audit was inconclusive. Under public pressure, YMCA officials asked Medford police to investigate. Two days later, police arrested Vezina, who had created and advocated for YMCA child-care programs even as she took cash intended for them. Vezina continued to steal, even though she wasn't driven by drinking, drugs or gambling, Loomis said. "Her New Year's resolution for 1999 was to stop stealing," Loomis said. "She spent all the money she took." Vezina offered no explanation to Feinberg, who said the thefts were not typical of the woman. "She won't attempt to justify her behavior," Feinberg said. "This individual has done enough good in her life and in her community that she deserves credit for that as well." That philosophy was shared by YMCA director Mike Cronin, who praised Wednesday's outcomes, saying they forced Vezina to accept responsibility for the crime without ruining her life. Vezina, who resigned from a state job, is working for an unidentified employer. "Basically, Karen, in my mind, is a good person who did a very stupid thing," Cronin said. "To give her some credit, she paid what we thought we were missing, not just what could be legally proven." The incident apparently has not diminished community support for YMCA programs, Cronin said. A spring fund-raising campaign, not yet complete, has raised $140,000, up from an initial goal of $125,000. Neither Vezina nor Feinberg would comment on the hearing outside court. "Leave her alone," Feinberg said, shepherding Vezina away from a reporter. "Hasn't she been through enough?" Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.