Mrs. Finlay Rabchuk, who was accompanied in court by her husband Walter, has made restitution for more than $400,000, and said she plans to pay all of the money back to the township.
"I don't know why I did this," Mrs. Rabchuk said to Judge George Koudelis. "I hope the court will give me a second chance."
Koudelis sentenced Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk to nine to 23 months in Delaware County prison, followed by a consecutive nine months on home monitoring and then three years probation. The jail term will begin Jan. 15, and until then she will remain under house arrest.
In October 2006, Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk pleaded guilty to five counts of failure to make require disposition of funds. She had been employed by Bethel Township for six months when she began placing municipal funds into her private Commerce Bank account.
With the money, Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk purchased mobile homes, cars and furniture.
Her attorney, Arthur Donato argued for probation based on his client having no prior history of this type of behavior, and forensic psychologist, Dr. Elliot Atkins said Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk was suffering from anxiety brought about by obsessive/compulsive behavior. Atkins said she took the money to assist family members who were in dire need of help, and not for her personal gratification.
Koudelis heard pleas from family members and friends who said the thefts were out of character for Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk and she committed these acts due to extreme mental stress and anxiety.
Following sentencing, Mrs. Finlay-Rabchuk exited the court with her husband and returned to her Delaware home where she will remain on home monitoring until she begins serving her prison term.