Spence sentenced

But during a hearing prior to the sentencing, Spence testified that she was not the only one involved in the thefts, but had been instructed to alter deposit slips by her boss, former county clerk and finance director, Morris Fortson.

“I was instructed to do this,” she told the court. “…Morris Fortson showed me how to do this.”

Fortson also took the stand and vehemently denied the allegation, saying that he had “absolutely not” had any part in the crime.

“You deny this and you are under oath?” Spence’s attorney Alan Alexander asked Fortson.

“Yes sir,” Fortson replied.

Spence testified that she knew what she did was wrong and that she should have known better and “not let it get as far as it did.”

“I do know it was a mistake and I regret it terribly,” she said.

Spence said that in 2004 she was experiencing financial and marital difficulties and that her supervisor and friend, Fortson, helped her out financially.

“Morris helped us get through some things,” she said.

She said that one day Fortson came in her office and told her that he could not support his family and hers on his salary. She alleges that he told her that “this is how I can help you” and instructed her on how to alter cash amounts on county deposit slips. Spence said she filled out the slips as instructed, placing all the money and checks in the bag. She testified that she did not keep cash out of the bag, but sent the entire amount along with both copies of deposit slips with Fortson to be deposited.

“Then when I needed money, he would give it to me,” she said, adding that though he occasionally gave her cash, if it were a large amount he would write her a check or transfer the money to her account.

Spence added that over the years she thinks that she received approximately $25,000 from Fortson but “never saw” the other $60,000.

“Will you abide by the restitution amount set by this court?” her attorney Alan Alexander asked.

“Yes,” Spence replied.

“If additional charges are brought in this case, will you testify before a grand jury?”

“Yes,” Spence replied.

Fortson denied the accusation and has not been charged with any crime.

Spence pled guilty Oct. 19 to the charges, for which she is accused of stealing $1,700 from senior center funds and another $85,982.47 from county bank deposits from 2004 – 2008. Judge Thomas Hodges granted Spence First Offender Status, which means the felony conviction will not remain on her record if she does not violate her probation.

“I’m sure you’re a nice person,” Judge Hodges said. “But whether you were told to do it or not, you did it knowing it was wrong and admitted that you received benefit from it.”

Spence was sentenced to two years confinement on count two ($1,700 senior center funds) with eight years probation. Spence, according to the court, has already repaid that money. She was also sentenced to 10 years probation on count one ($85,982 theft from county bank deposits), to be served consecutively. Spence was told that she must provide full restitution of the amount, but that if someone else were to be convicted of the crime, they would share the responsibility of restitution with her.

Spence was given until 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to turn herself in to the Madison County Detention Center to begin her incarceration.

DETAILS OF THE CRIME

County finance director Kathy Clark took the stand to assist district attorney Bob Lavender in showing “how it (the crime) was done” and how the investigation recreated the process.

Clark, along with two First Citizens’ Bank employees, head teller Carrie Burroughs and operations specialist Carla Patterson, testified that there were discrepancies between deposits and actual account balances that were discovered between June 2004 and February 2008.

Clark said original copies of deposits, “white copies,” which were kept by the bank, sometimes carried only the date and deposit totals, without an itemized list of checks and cash, but that the corresponding deposit copies, “yellow copies,” kept by the county office did contain a cash amount deposited as well as an itemized list of checks.

Though both totals matched, the witnesses said bank documents showed that less cash was sometimes deposited than what was listed on the yellow deposit slips. Additional checks that were not listed on the yellow copies were used to cover the difference and make the totals match, they testified.

Burroughs testified that the bank records itemized transactions of each deposit listing a cash total and each individual check whether or not they are listed on the customer’s deposit slip.

It was these records, Burroughs said, that were used to trace the discrepancies in deposits.

“We found discrepancies on numerous occasions,” Burroughs said. She and Patterson said those discrepancies often included less cash, but more checks, than county “yellow copies” showed, though the totals were always the same.

Patterson verified that the bank system records every check and cash amount that makes up each deposit.

FORTSON TAKES THE STAND

Morris Fortson also took the stand Tuesday.

He told the court that he was Spence’s supervisor and that he worked closely with her but denied that he had anything to do with the theft of any county money.

Fortson said his part in the deposit process was to physically take county deposits to the bank each day.

Fortson said he would open the bank bag, verify the total, but that he did not look over the itemized checks and cash total before depositing the funds in the bank.

“I did not stand over her (Spence) and watch her make out the deposit slips,” Fortson said. He said the “totals always matched” when he made the deposits.

Fortson said the discovery of the thefts began when he noticed a cash deposit (from the Senior Center) was missing in February 2008. Fortson said both he and Spence searched both his office and hers for the missing money, which could not be found. Fortson said he then informed the board of commissioners, who called law enforcement. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate. Spence admitted to taking the money in late April.

“I placed a great deal of trust in Mrs. Spence,” Fortson said, adding that both he and then chairman Wesley Nash felt her a very capable employee. “I never felt the need to check up on her because I did not feel her capable of that (stealing),” he said.

“The yellow and white copy (deposit slip) totals matched and those (unlisted) checks used to replace that cash had paid for something,” Alexander said when he cross-examined Fortson. Alexander asked Fortson how he could not have known of the discrepancies or been “suspicious” of the deposits.

Fortson explained that the clerk’s office received payments from various county departments, and that the unlisted checks came from EMS, whose billing services were contracted out at the time. Fortson said it was part of Spence’s duties to make two copies of checks, but that on those particular checks she made only one copy.

Fortson said this caused the EMS billing contractor to show those accounts unpaid on their books.

Fortson said that no one caught the discrepancies, including himself, his staff or county auditors.

Alexander asked Fortson if he instructed Spence to alter the deposits, to which he replied “absolutely not.”