Former Grandview School District business manager Angela Huskey, 51, of De Soto was sentenced today (Oct. 13) to 63 months in prison, after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud in connection with the embezzlement of $1.6 million from the district.
Huskey, who worked 20 years for the school district, also will have to pay $1,813,900.63 in restitution.
About 100 former colleagues, administrators, teachers and students packed the courtroom to hear U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel hand down the sentence. There were no classes today, so some of those former co-workers rode together on a school bus to the St. Louis Courthouse to witness the hearing.
Four Grandview school officials or staff members gave victims’ impact statements during the sentencing hearing – Board of Education members Bob Gearhart and Ken Ramsey, Superintendent Matt Zoph and vocal music teacher Deborah Anderson. Each one asked that Huskey receive the harshest punishment possible because of the damage she had done to district’s finances and to the community as a whole.
Huskey also took the stand and tearfully addressed the judge.
“I am deeply saddened by my actions. I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” she said. “I am truly, truly sorry.”
During the proceedings, Huskey, who was dressed in black, sat next to her attorney and stared at the table in front of her, now and then, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. She never looked at the people who spoke at the hearing nor at the people gathered in the courtroom.
Gearhart, the school board president, said Huskey’s theft from the financially strapped school district cost it programs, books and some people their jobs, not to mention raises for employees whose salaries were frozen “year after year.”
“She was the secretary of the board and had a firsthand look at our financial situation,” Gearhart said.
“She bought a second home. She bought appliances for it with the district credit card. She bought Harley Davidson motorcycles. She bought a Corvette,” he said.
Gearhart said that while he went through the statements from the district credit card Huskey used to make personal purchases, the thing that bothered him most was a custom-made camouflage bathrobe and slippers, which he said she bought with money that was supposed to go to the children of the district.
“She took money every month for years just to support her greed,” Gearhart said. “The impact can’t be quantified.”
In addition to money embezzled from the district, there were costs for the investigation and legal fees that amounted to about $160,000, as well as other costs to fix tax returns for employees who paid taxes on money they never were paid, he said.
Zoph said the district recently had to borrow $1 million so it can make ends meet until tax revenue comes in at the beginning of next year.
While the stolen money hurt the district, which has students using 10-year-old laptop computers, the damage to employee morale and the loss of the community’s trust was the worst part of the betrayal, Zoph said.
“Trust is what small communities are built on,” he said.
Zoph asked Judge Sippel to not be swayed by Huskey’s tearful testimony.
“I believe if Ms. Huskey hadn’t been caught, she would still be stealing today,” he said. “Please don’t allow her cooperation or tears influence your decision today.”
The recommended sentence for the crime was between 51 and 63 months, according to federal guidelines, Sippel said, and Huskey was given the maximum sentence. She will also have three years of supervised probation upon her release from prison.
“We’re not in the forgiveness business,” Sippel told Huskey. “You are going to have to make peace with the community. You are going to have to make peace with yourself.”
After the sentencing, those who sat in the courtroom gathered in the lobby. Most seemed satisfied with the sentence.
“I think justice was done,” Zoph said. “It’s still sad we had to go through this as a district.”
He said the school district still has work to do, though, to regain the public’s trust.
“We will continue to work to build relationships with the community,” he said.
Scott Meyer, an elementary teacher and high school coach, said he thought the sentencing brought “a little relief for everybody.”
Longtime district residents Tim Dugan, a former board member, and his wife, Maureen, said they were shocked and stunned when they heard about the theft.
“It was unfathomable how she could steal from us,” Tim Dugan said. “How do you come home and say let’s buy a Harley?”
He said those who spoke during the victim-impact portion of the proceedings spoke “eloquently.”
“I think it was exactly how the district feels,” Dugan said.
Ramsey said the sentencing didn’t fix everything but would help the district heal.
“It was a piece of something to help us move forward,” he said.
As Huskey left the building shaking and in tears, her attorney said, “She’s not interested in making any comment.”