43
Convicted treasurer Wilson will not get retirement pay during probation
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Phyllis J. Wilson, who stole $142,772 over 41/2 years as Niles assistant treasurer, will receive none of her $1,176 monthly retirement check during the five years of her probation, an appeals court has ruled.
Wilson, 64, of Russell Avenue in Niles, was ordered to spend six months in the county jail in April 2015 and make full restitution for the money she stole, but she appealed to the 11th District Court of Appeals the ruling by Judge Andrew Logan that she forfeit her entire retirement check.
This week, a ruling by Judge Thomas R. Wright said Judge Logan did not have discretion in ordering full restitution. Instead, it’s Ohio law that “expressly mandates that such an order must be made.”
The Ohio law that covered Wilson’s offense – theft in office – is written specifically for thefts involving public officials because of the “well-settled public policy that a public official would always be held accountable for the loss of any public funds under her control,” the ruling said.
Wilson appealed the restitution order, saying she should not be ordered to forfeit her entire retirement check “based on a lack of evidence concerning her ability to pay restitution.”
At her sentencing hearing April 28, 2014, her attorney, David Rouzzo of the Ohio Public Defender’s office, advised Judge Logan that Wilson’s entire retirement check “doesn’t cover her expenses.”
Chris Becker, Trumbull County assistant prosecutor, pointed out that taking all of her retirement during the five years of her probation will only allow the city of Niles to recoup half of the money she stole.
After the five years, it will be necessary for the prosecutor’s office or city of Niles to get a civil judgment to make her pay the rest, Becker said.
In her appeal, Wilson argued that if Judge Logan had considered her age, that she already was retired at the time of her sentence and that she was poor, the court should have found that she was entitled to retain at least a portion of her check, the ruling said.
Wilson said she stole the money because of a gambling habit. She took “early retirement” in 2012 “so that she would not be tempted to take additional funds,” the ruling says.
Judge Logan ordered Wilson at sentencing to obtain and maintain employment so she could maintain herself and make additional restitution, the ruling says.
During sentencing, neither Wilson nor Becker presented evidence regarding Wilson’s ability to work. In a presentence investigation, the court learned that Wilson has a high-school diploma and her physical health is “fair,” the ruling said.
All of those materials indicated that Wilson was able to work full time and sustain herself, the ruling said.