PORT ANGELES — Catherine Betts appeared calm as she sat in a wheelchair Friday during her first court appearance and pleaded not guilty to stealing $617,467 in cash from the Clallam County Treasurer’s Office.
The 46-year-old former county employee, who is charged with first-degree theft for allegedly pocketing public money over five years, was released on her own recognizance.
A trial was scheduled for July 12, which is expected to last 4 to 5 days, and Betts was appointed a public defender during the brief arraignment.
Betts requested a court-appointed attorney, to be paid for at public expense, saying that she could no longer afford private representation.
She allegedly admitted to police in May to stealing about $1,200 — the amount believed stolen at the time — in order to flee a troubled home situation in Port Angeles.
If convicted, Betts could get a sentence beyond the standard 10 years of prison for first-degree theft.
Position of trust
She could receive a sentence enhancement because the thefts occurred over several years, because she stole far more than $5,000, which is the threshold for the Class B felony, and because she violated a position of trust.
State Assistant Attorney General Scott Marlow is prosecuting Betts.
County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly’s office is not handling the case to avoid conflict-of-interest issues that could arise by prosecuting a county employee, she has said.
Funds allegedly stolen by the former Treasurer’s Office cashier have not been recovered, Police Chief Terry Gallagher has said.
Dan Sytman, Attorney General’s Office spokesman, said Friday that during the trial, it is “very likely” that it will be shown what happened to at least some of the money, but he would not address the question now.
“We’re not focused on how the money was spent. What we’re focused on is proving that she took the money.”
Sytman said he didn’t want to say anything that “we may have to clarify with more precision later as that becomes more of a focus.”
Full courtroom
Betts was wheeled in and out of the nearly full courtroom by a relative.
The early-morning audience — a mix of people who came to see Betts and those who would face the judge after her — included a handful of police detectives who worked on her case, and county administrators.
Among them was her former boss, county Treasurer Judy Scott.
Scott, who held the senior position for about three of the five years Betts allegedly stole from the county, said she felt a mix of emotions when she saw her in court.
One of those emotions was betrayal.
“If she did do it, I don’t know how she could come to work every day and look at us,” Scott said.
Betts, who worked in the Treasurer’s Office for about eight years, allegedly took checks from property owners for real estate excise taxes, cashed them with funds from the office’s cash drawer, and entered the amount on lines and columns that she hid on a spreadsheet.
A state Auditor’s Office investigation concluded that money was taken from between Feb. 1, 2004, and May 19, 2009, the day employees discovered bookkeeping anomalies, according to court documents.
Scott said her office has tightened its procedures.
Marlow said he requested Betts be released without bail because she is not considered to be a flight risk.
Betts, who now lives in Shelton, is restricted from leaving Western Washington.
Marlow said that if she was going to flee, she wouldn’t have shown up in court.
Scott agreed.
“If she was going to flee, she would have done it by now,” she said.
Scott, who admitted mistakes were made by her office, said she didn’t know why Betts was in a wheelchair. Scott said she had never seen her in one before, and wasn’t aware of a disability.
Harry Gasnik, who was appointed her public defender Friday, said he also didn’t know why she was in a wheelchair.
“I don’t have any information on that,” said Gasnik, who is the director of the Clallam County Public Defender’s Office. “My office was just appointed today.
Her attorney up until the end of the court appearance, Michelle Ahrens, declined to comment.
Ahrens had represented Betts since the Treasurer’s Office discovered that money was missing on May 19, 2009.
Divorce papers filed by her husband, Tracy Betts, in February refer to her as being disabled. The same document also says she is receiving $1,400 per month in income.
Judge George L. Wood reviewed a financial statement from Betts, which is sealed, before appointing the public defender’s office to represent her.
The money the county lost is covered by its risk-pool insurance.
60,000 documents
Citing the 60,000 pages of documents that are part of the case, Gasnik said he is unsure if an adequate defense can be prepared before the trial date.
“I would have to read 1,500 pages of documents per day, every day,” he said.
Gasnik said he may ask the court to cover the cost of hiring someone qualified for “forensic accounting” to help review the documents.
The trial was set for July 12 to meet the state’s 90-day speedy trial requirement.
Gasnik said the trial can be postponed if Betts waives her right to a speedy trial, or if the court finds ground for overriding that right. That could include a witness not being available, or an illness among the prosecution or defense, he said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.