Today, June 14, 2013, in Muscatine County District Court DIANA FRY, DOB: 8/24/1959, of Muscatine, was sentenced for the offense of Theft in the First Degree. FRY had been arrested after an investigation by the Muscatine Police Department showed that she had taken approximately $15,512 from the City of Muscatine where she had worked as a clerical employee in the finance department. The court imposed a suspended prison sentence of not to exceed ten years and a fine of $1,000.
"As a condition of her plea agreement the defendant paid $8,500 in a lump sum to the Clerk of Court today at her sentencing," said Muscatine County Attorney Alan R. Ostergren. "This figure was selected because it was the City's deductible for its insurance policy. FRY will be required to pay back the remainder of the money over the course of her period of supervised probation. If she willfully fails to pay restitution during that time period I will seek to revoke her probation," Ostergren continued. FRY's restitution obligation includes a requirement that she pay the City's audit costs of $5,598.
"Theft of public money is a serious matter," Ostergren said. "My concern is to punish the defendant and to get the taxpayers paid back as quickly as possible. FRY is now a convicted felon and the taxpayers of Muscatine are on the way to being made whole," he added.
Updated to reflect the breakdown between restitution amount for funds taken and the audit costs which FRY must repay.
In other matters before the Court today:
RYAN LARUE, DOB: 5/14/1985, of Muscatine, pled guilty to Domestic Assault Strangulation, a class "D" felony, and Driving While Barred. LARUE had been arrested by the Muscatine Police Department after an incident on April 10, 2013, in which he assaulted the mother of his minor child. The assault charge is a forcible felony which will require the court to impose a sentence of incarceration. LARUE will be sentenced August 3, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.
KELLY HALLER, DOB: 8/14/1984, of Muscatine, pled guilty to two counts of Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Investigation by the Muscatine County Drug Task Force showed that HALLER delivered the prescription drug Adderral on two separate occasions. HALLER will be sentenced July 26, 2013, at 9:15 a.m.
