Illinois Village Clerk Stole More Than $700,000 To Spend At Indiana Casinos

There seems to be more than a small trend emerging that one of the leading reasons public officials steal money from their employers is to feed a gambling addiction. The latest example is the long-time village clerk for Burnham, Illinois, who pleaded guilty today to stealing more than $700,000 from the small town's coffers to spend on gambling. Nancy Dobrowski, 70, pleaded guilty in federal district court in Chicago today to one count each of wire fraud and income tax evasion.

Dobrowski worked as the village clerk in Burnham for more than 30 years. She abruptly resigned her office after FBI agents raided the village offices last year. Going back at least ten years, Dobrowski raided the village bank account for money to spend at Indiana casinos. Dobrowski covered up her thefts by falsifying entries in the village's financial records and delaying bank deposits for weeks at a time. Dobrowski will be required to repay the more than $700,000 she stole from the village as restitution, which includes $58,000 she paid herself in ill-gotten pension funds.