by Barbara Penezic
Fremont Crusader Commentary
The Fremont County Clerk and Recorder, Katie Barr, was arrested in March on charges of embezzlement of public property, harassment, intimidation of a witness and fraud by check.
After months of public speculation and the Fremont County Commissioner’s asking Ms. Barr to “do the decent thing and resign her office” even though she had not been proven guilty of any wrong-doing at the time, it now appears the evidence to convict Katie Barr of any real crimes simply doesn’t exist. The Fremont County Clerk and Recorder took a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to issuing a bad check; a Class 3 Misdemeanor. Ms. Barr will pay a $750 fine and serve 100 hours of community service plus one-year unsupervised probation.
The ruling by District Judge Ramsey Lama was cheered by some and left a sour taste in the mouth of others. So is Fremont County Clerk and Recorder Katie Barr the ‘Teflon Queen’ or did D.A. Chilson miss something in not being able to make the charges of embezzlement etc. stick? The D.A. stated there was not enough evidence to charge her with check fraud. Chilson pointed out that other County employees had written checks that bounced. “Any county employee could pass a check for cash,” she said adding, “there was a due process problem when it came to Katie.”
This “check for cash” policy has reportedly been going on for many years; however, authorities alleged that Ms. Barr embezzled money from the county. This charge was not pressed along with allegations the Fremont County Clerk and Recorder harassed and intimidated employees within her office and the DMV. These allegations were
never proven.
A plea deal always leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the public. Was the defendant guilty as alleged or did the defendant simply find he/she could not afford the costs of a lengthy trial? Was Katie simply the straw that broke the camel’s back? Is she guilty of using the County Clerk’s Office as her own personal bank and loan company as her predecessors had allegedly done? Remember, the county is not out any funds. Katie has; however, paid a very high price for these unproven allegations. Not saying she is totally innocent but is she any guiltier than others who used the “County Bank” between paydays. How responsible is it to name Dotty Gaurdino as having written checks while others committing the same offense go unnamed? Especially, in view of the upcoming elections. One other question is, it an offense if, as D.A. Chilson stated, this has been the policy for many years?
Katie didn’t get off without any penalties. She was arrested, booked and spent the night in jail but that was just the beginning, her reputation has been ruined, her career ended along with her husband’s business. She has been judged in the court of public opinion and finds herself the recipient of crude remarks when she dares to venture out into the community where she was once well respected. Will Dottie now face the same judging? What happened to ‘Innocent until Proven Guilty in a court of Law?”
Fremont County practices and policies would seem to be in need of some deep housecleaning. It looks as though our next County Recorder will be Justin Grantham (he’s the only one running for the office) and if so, he is going to have a lot of work to do to restore public confidence in the office. The entire Fremont County Government would appear to need some oversight.
According to one county employee, “Procedures that worked back then need to be dusted off and updated with technology and computer training for all employees. The lack of professionalism that exists throughout the building needs to be addressed.” This person declined to give permission to use his\her name saying, “Sorry, I don’t want to get any of those unfriendly emails.”
Remember, “Let he who has no sin cast the first stone.”
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