Charges amended against Dahl
The trial of a former employee of a Burlington beer distributor accused of stealing from her employer remained stalled Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Des Moines County Attorney's office has amended one of the charges levied against Susan Marie Dahl.
Dahl, 38, of Burlington was arrested May 11, 2005 and charged with first–degree theft and fraudulent practices. The state now alleges Dahl was an accessory after the fact in addition to committing first–degree theft, according to amended trial information filed by the Des Moines County Attorney's office.
Dahl's case was scheduled for trial April 4, but was removed from the docket due to the new charge. As of Tuesday, no trial date has been scheduled. Dahl's alleged accomplice, Jeffrey Thomas Lee, 44, of West Burlington, pleaded guilty last month to a charge of second–degree fraudulent practices, a Class D felony, pursuant to a plea agreement with the state.
Under the provisional deal, prosecutors will stand silent during sentencing and the defense will request a deferred judgment for Lee. In addition, Lee would be required to pay roughly $10,000 in restitution to Golden Eagle Distributing, 1820 Charles St., in Burlington.
The pair's arrest stems from an October 2003 audit of the beer distributor which revealed a variance of roughly $60,000 for the period of Jan. 1, 2002, through Oct. 6, 2003, according to court records. Lee was general manager of the distributorship and Dahl was a sales inventory data technician. Both are no longer employed by the company.
Dahl testified during an Iowa Workforce Development hearing that she altered financial records in order to have funds available to reimburse the company's escrow accounts, which Lee was stealing from, court records indicated.
Dahl allegedly admitted in her testimony that she knew Lee was taking money from the escrow accounts and that was the reason she manipulated the financial records, according to a police affidavit. Lee is scheduled to be sentenced April 24 in Des Moines County District Court.
Source: The Hawk Eye, 04/20/06
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