Alan Mizen, the former CFO for the Center Township Trustee's office
received an 18-month sentence from Judge Sarah Evans Barker today after pleading guilty to stealing $343,000 in taxpayer funds according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Indiana. Mizen was also ordered to repay the amount he stole as restitution. "The citizens of Marion County deserve better from their public officials,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler. “I hope this sends a loud and strong message to anyone who abuses the public trust in Indiana. The U. S. Attorney’s Office will you hold you strictly accountable.” Here's how the U.S. Attorney's Office described his crime:
Mizen served as the chief financial officer for Center Township. In June 2010, he set up an account with PNC Bank and deposited a check in the amount of $343,541.08 that was drawn from public funds. Mizen then used the computerized accounting system at the Center Township Trustee’s Office to create a false invoice indicating that he had written the check to the “Treasurer of State.”
Mizen then transferred the funds to various personal accounts that he maintained. From these personal accounts, Mizen used over $200,000 towards the purchase of a residence in Zionsville, the purchase of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, the funding of his child’s college education, personal vacations, the purchase a diamond necklace and diamond ring for $8,900 during a trip to the Cayman Islands and made other consumer purchases. Mizen used embezzled taxpayer funds to finance these personal expenditures from June 10, 2010, through July 2012.
Thank you U.S. Attorney’s office and Judge Sarah Evans Barker. Marion County taxpayers congratulate you on this conviction. But this was a fairly straightforward case. I hope the U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to probe our more complex frauds and bring charges against the privileged lawyers, insiders and donors who buy and sell Indianapolis contracts for their own profit. We have a problem here. And only part of it shows its face. Like an iceberg, Indianapolis graft runs deep and largely below the surface. We taxpayers are subjected to injustice after injustice, the result being the misuse of our scarce tax dollars. We don’t have roads that can be driven on. We don’t have enough police officers. Our infrastructure is bought and sold out from under us. Our rates rise. And rise. Bonds are issued that will never be retired, just rolled over. Taxes are collected from all, then spent for a few. So I applaud this conviction. And I hope for many more. Many more. Thank you.
ReplyDelete$343,000 being stolen in Indianapolis is tip money. This prosecution is a joke.
ReplyDeleteThis prosecution is merely window dressing to make the US Attorney's office look like it's doing something.
When Ballard, Daniels, Miles, Glass, Vaughn, Brooks, Hunter, and the rest of the scumballs are in federal stir, you'll have done something praiseworthy.
The State Board of Accounts uncovered the theft during an audit and reported it to the Marion Co. Prosecutor, who wouldn't touch it for political reasons. Remember, former Trustee Carl Drummer got very defensive and attacked the state auditor for suggesting any funds had been misappropriated on his watch, which is quite laughable given many years of documented proof of law-breaking during his tenure that went unprosecuted. The U.S. Attorney couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. The investigative work had already been done for them when they got the case.
ReplyDeleteDid Myers of Boone County cooperate with the investigation?--Prosecutor. Probably not? He too should be on the list with Anon: 446
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, if you are not a member of the governing class, you face potential summary execution for petty crimes on the spot by our overlords. See Staten Island and Baltimore, amongst many other places.
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