Theft from Niles treasurer’s office now listed at $142,272

Former treasurer’s clerk stands accused of theft in office

Staff report

WARREN

Further investigation has turned up a much larger amount of missing money from the Niles Treasurer’s Office.

A superseding indictment handed up Tuesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court indicates that Phyllis J. Wilson, 62, of Lincoln Avenue in Niles, former treasurer’s clerk, is accused of $142,272 in theft from Jan. 1, 2009, to June 30, 2013.

When she originally was indicted in April, her indictment listed the missing money as being $71,000 dating from Jan. 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013.

She still faces the same charge as before — theft in office, a third-degree felony, which is punishable by probation or a prison sentence of several years if she is convicted.

The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s office routinely recommends a prison sentence for anyone convicted of theft in office.

Meanwhile, Hale H. Burkholder III, 34, of Thomas Street in North Jackson, has been indicted on charges of kidnapping and attempted rape with a specification that he is a repeat violent officer, which could add prison time if he’s convicted.

Niles police said he kidnapped a 28-year-old woman and attempted to sexually assault her in a wooded area near McKees Lane in Niles on July 2. The woman had been riding in his pickup truck.

Burkholder was sentenced to five years in prison in 2002 after pleading guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to improperly discharging a firearm in or at a home with a specification that a gun was used.

Also indicted was Aaron S. Moffett, 31, of Griswold Street Northeast, on charges of attempted murder and felonious assault. His 34-year-old sister called police to her Griswold Street apartment at 3:30 a.m. July 3, saying Aaron Moffett stabbed her in the eye.

Stephen Bradfield, 41, of Myrtle Avenue Northwest in Champion, has been indicted on four child-pornography charges. The charges, called pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, carry a potential prison term of more than 30 years if convicted.