Druckemiller guilty plea set for March 6; sentencing April 1

Florida Keys News - Key West Citizen

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Druckemiller guilty plea set for March 6; sentencing April 1

BY TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Staff
tohara@keysnews.com

The former head of Monroe County Technical Services Department will plead guilty to felony theft charges next month and be sentenced in April.

An attorney for former IT director Lisa Druckemiller and prosecutors went before Circuit Court Judge David Audlin on Tuesday and agreed to her pleading guilty March 6 to dealing in stolen property and scheming to defraud. She will be sentenced on April 1.

The Monroe County State Attorney's Office is recommending Druckemiller serve two years in prison.

"That has been the recommended sentence all along," prosecutor Mark Wilson said Tuesday.

Druckemiller's attorney, Robert Cintron, contends she has suffered a huge financial loss by losing her job and state pension and should not receive prison time, or at least, minimal prison time.

"We hope the judge takes that into account when determining her punishment," Cintron said.

Druckemiller abruptly retired in March as the investigation got under way. A grand jury heard the case in June, and she was arrested July 17. She is currently free on $30,000 bail.

Druckemiller reportedly stole 52 county-owned iPads and iPhones and sold them to co-workers, friends and relatives.

The thefts were a major embarrassment for the county and led to several new policies to keep similar thefts from happening again. The Monroe County Clerk's Office implemented a new fraud hotline to report such crimes and fraud.

tohara@keysnews.com

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Only pennies compared to the BOCC waste

Submitted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 5:05pm by narcosis

So, let me get this straight citizens of Monroe County…let’s just run the math for a moment: Lisa Druckemiller stole $23,311.00 and for some reason almost everyone thinks this is a big deal. Monique Acevado stole somewhere in the neighborhood of $400K, and of course this seems like a pretty big deal too. It’s not. So here we are, coming right back to full circle with what your County Commission has quietly “stolen” from Monroe County taxpayers over several years and no one is going to jail, no one is losing their pension, in reality no one even cares. The BOCC and Alicia Putney has stolen over $1 million dollars to fight Galleon Bay and Electricity on No Name Key. The most shocking thing to me, is Monroe County has ADDMITTED to wasting $1 million on this ridiculous battle. Which means the actual figure is probably closer to $2 million because dishonesty is as prevalent as the dollars wasted. Wake up people, Druckemiller’s $23,311.00 is laughable….your BOCC is spending more than that per month while dragging out the No Name Key electric battle.

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Really?? Why should this

Submitted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 9:49am by Island Girl

Really?? Why should this woman losing her job and pension even be considered when determining her punishment? She was stealing from her employer, of course she should lose her job and pension and also receive prison time, and I don't think it should be minimum time.

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Eight Years Sounds Good

Submitted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 8:20am by Italian Rose

Eight years was the punishment given Monique Acevedo, so 8-years here sounds good with 22 years (30-years total)along with probabion with restitution + interest.

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Two years

Submitted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 2:15am by Bonefish

Two years is nothing, when she gets out she can run for local office; a conviction is a Badge of honor in Monroe!!!! I still feel the County Manager got away with it thanks to a group of County Commissioners that just don't get it.