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DENISE BIRT |
The former director of a social service agency that collapsed in 2014 was named in a five-count secret indictment this week in Logan County Common Pleas Court.
The Logan County Prosecutor’s Office has built a criminal case against Denise Birt, 60, that alleges she orchestrated a complex shell game to keep the failing Tri-County Community Action Commission afloat in a series of actions that crossed the line from negligence and entered into the criminal domain.
“It has been a long time coming, but it is a complicated venture to get to the collapse of a nonprofit organization and find out exactly how and why it collapsed,” Logan County Prosecutor William T. Goslee said.
“The difficult thing is to get people to understand that even though she didn’t walk out with a suitcase full of money, people were harmed — specifically the bank and the vendors that still haven’t been paid.”
The five-count indictment against Mrs. Birt includes three third-degree felonies — securing writings by deception, theft and falsification — a fourth-degree felony count of theft and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records.
Ms. Birt was arrested on a warrant Thursday at her Adams County home and was lodged in the Logan County Jail. She is expected to appear for arraignment on the charges Friday.
Read complete story in Friday’s Examiner.
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