Former Ortonville Clerk/Treasurer Mary Clark has pleaded no contest to charges of willful neglect of duty by a public officer.
Clark made the plea May 21 in front of 52-2 District Court Judge Joseph Fabrizio. Sentencing has been set for 3:30 p.m., July 9.
Clark served as the Ortonville clerk/treasurer from 2003 until she resigned in November 2007 amidst an investigation into her accounting practices. An audit by Lewis & Knopf confirmed inadequacies, and Village Council President Ken Quisenberry said at the time that checks made out to the village had not been cashed and were placed in a filing cabinet. The checks were eventually cashed, but some had been around for a period of time.
No criminal investigation was planned at the time of her resignation, but on June 13, Quisenberry contacted the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and filed a complaint of suspected embezzlement by Clark after two village residents who paid their taxes in cash to the former treasurer received a late notice from the county.
According to police reports, the taxpayers had receipts showing they had paid their bills on time, in July and September of 2007, respectively. Clark had collected a total of $1,387.52 from the two residents, but never recorded the transactions. She had no explanation for the missing funds.
Neither the prosecuting attorney nor Clark’s attorney, Josh West, could be reached for comment at press time.