International Selkirk Loop official accused of grand theft |
| September 12, 2011 |
|
The former administrator of the International
Selkirk Loop is scheduled to be arraigned on
three counts of grand theft September 19, and
even though her accusers are convinced she's
guilty, they hope she's given a chance to atone
for her weakness. Jennifer Jeanine Watts, 40, stands accused of three counts of grand theft for allegedly taking money from her employers of the past three years, the International Selkirk Loop, an organization dedicated to showing what's best about this community. While she was considered an invaluable and trusted part of the team, however, flags started popping up that didn't stand the test of audit. Needed reports weren't being turned in on time, and when they were, amounts seemed to be off. When called to account, she was too busy ... attending police academy to become a jailer in Bonner County, they said, obfuscating attempts to find out what was going on. When the obfuscation became too much and the accountants stepped in, three felony charges of grand theft were leveled. "The further we pulled back, the more we saw." Jennifer, a former Montana judge and former office manager in the Boundary County Prosecutor's office, is exercizing her right to remain silent, as well she should. Many who are familiar with the case, however, say she had too much of a fondness for gaming ... and that most of the missing funds, if indeed her fault, are now part of the Hagadone empire, lost at the Kootenai River Inn. If that's the case, she's not alone in being ashamed, just the latest. |