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Sentencing set for Van Bibber theft

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By JAMIE BARRAND, Editor

A sentencing date has been set for a woman accused of stealing more than $30,000 from the Van Bibber Lake Conservancy.

Rita K. Lang, 57, will face Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matt Headley on Jan. 5. Lang is charged with one count of Class D felony theft, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Lang was arrested Jan. 10, accused of taking $31,993.75 from the VBL Conservancy, where she was the financial secretary. She posted 10 percent of a $5,000 bond and was released on Jan. 14.

She is being represented by public defender James Recker.

Court documents said Lang wrote checks to herself in the amount of $12,699.24 and took at least $9,159 in cash from the sale of conservancy trash bags. She was also accused of taking a missing laptop computer valued at $1,700, as well as other missing funds, late fees and penalties.

According to court documents, Lang confessed to the crimes, telling investigators that she began stealing to pay personal bills she had fallen behind on due to her husband's illness. She also said she was the primary provider for several members of her family.

The Van Bibber Lake Conservancy was established in 1970 to provide safe drinking water to the nearly 400 residents of Van Bibber Lake.

Conservancy board members are elected by area homeowners, oversee an annual budget of $250,000 and provide services including road construction and maintenance, water and sewer services and trash collection.

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  • Not to worry ladies, this is Putnam County, thieves get a slap on the hand. Look what others have gotten for stealing a whole lot more. I do hope you are registered Republicans, that really helps to get a lesser sentence.

    -- Posted by Falcon9 on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 1:49 AM

  • "I do hope you are registered Republicans, that really helps to get a lesser sentence."

    Really? And I should be surprised?

    -- Posted by reeltime on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 6:27 AM

  • If she receives the same or a harsher sentence than Wade, it will hopefully show county voters how outrageous Wade's sentence was, which was a gift to her from her son's buddy the prosecutor, and they will remember it come election time and oust him.

    At least this woman spent a few nights in jail. The Wade sentencing is a JOKE. A friend of mine got arrested for Public Intox. He was walking (not driving) home from the bar to his home a few blocks away and he had to spend at least one night in jail.

    Putnam County: Home of the Bizarro Justice System

    -- Posted by LangdonUlger on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 8:34 AM

  • Let's see... it's about 25% of the Wade money, so using the Wade justice standard, the punishment should be about 4.5 months of house arrest.

    Course, her son doesn't know the prosecutor.

    -- Posted by whatsup on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 9:17 AM

  • Seriously when is the system here in Putnam County going to make a good enough example out of one of these people that this thiefing comes to an end? I mean come on if I did this I am sure I'd get a whole heck of alot more out of it than these people have gotten! Obiviously people aren't taking the consequences serious because most people are getting a slap on the wrist!

    -- Posted by me me on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 10:50 AM

  • Wow it looks like embezzlement is big, big problem in this area....

    I plan on moving this way next spring so I have started reading the paper daily and have been stunned by the amount of folks out here just flat out stealing from their neighbors!

    And it looks like the court system is very, very lenient on the people that get caught with their hands in the cookie jars... usually that comes from corruption at all levels, I hope that this is just a small run of people and it's not something that is a bigger problem.

    -- Posted by shocktherapy on Wed, Dec 17, 2008, at 7:20 PM

  • Well lets see.. she will get a better deal.. why do you ask.. Given the circumstances: Her Hubby was a Chief For the fire Department at VBL.. Hmmm she is 57 years old....and she was a very rude person when she worked there. So she fits wades profile but has the advantage of being older and have a person in her house hold that may have put out your fire...

    -- Posted by blah-blah-blah on Thu, Dec 18, 2008, at 10:01 AM
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