LACKAWAXEN TOWNSHIP -- A township in the Poconos is out nearly a quarter of a million dollars after state police said a former employee stole all that money.
At a meeting Monday night in Pike County, residents could find out more about what went wrong.
Lackawaxen Township Supervisors met Monday at 6:30. State troopers were there to explain why it took more than a year to file charges against the former secretary and township leaders informed everyone what's been done to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Lackawaxen Township Supervisor Bob Cocchi is now in charge of the money that comes in and goes out of the township.
His filing cabinets hold financial records and there's a new safe to keep things locked up.
All because state police said Shawn Roe, the woman who worked as the township's secretary for more than a decade, stole more than $200,000.
Supervisors caught on last year and said Roe was fired before a time-consuming audit uncovered a bigger amount of money missing than first thought.
"It is a lot of money, no matter what because, we`re on the bare minimum now. We have enough to carry us through the winter," said Lackawaxen Township Supervisor Rich Krochta.
A new secretary has been hired but doesn't handle a penny of township money.
Supervisors changed their procedures after state police said Roe linked a PayPal account to the township and used it to steal almost $100,000. Troopers said Roe stole even more money by writing checks to herself over a 10-year period.
"You think it's a position of trust, and they violated that by using taxpayer money," said Cocchi.
State grant money has been on hold for Lackawaxen Township while it figures out where all that missing money went. Audits had to be done and a state police investigation as well before any money could go toward things like a planned salt shed in the township.
"How do you not know? Isn`t there a trail?" asked Melinda Dennis of Lackawaxen Township.
People we spoke with can't understand how, as the amount of money that went missing kept going up, no one seemed to notice it was gone.
"I don't understand how it could go on so long. How do you not know that much money is missing?" she wondered.
"I think this will be an eye-opener for a lot of people, especially other communities that are small like us," said Eric Mitchell of Lackawaxen Township. "If it can happen here, who's to say it won't happen somewhere else."
Township supervisors said they now sign all checks in public at the monthly meetings.
They expect to get all that money back.
Supervisors also hope to start getting back the public's trust tonight at the meeting Monday night.
