It seems every few years we hear about some appointed or elected official being charged or convicted of stealing from the very pot of money they were trusted to oversee. For example in 2010, here in Vanderburgh County, Linda Durham, Knight Township Trustee was charged and convicted of felony theft of nearly $70,000 from the taxpayers of Knight township. Money that was desperately needed at the time. That money would never fully be repaid according to the latest Evansville Courier and Press article on the subject.
A few years later, Stephanie Tenbarge Executive Director of ECHO housing corporation, (a non-profit organization that receives taxpayer dollars from local, State, and federal funding sources) was charged and convicted of stealing and defrauding over $147,000 from the non-profit. In the underlying testimony it was discovered that she used the non-profit’s accounts to pay her home taxes, hired contractors to do yard work at her place of residence, and cut herself additional payroll checks according to an Evansville Courier article. Judge Richard Young that oversaw the case was lenient on her and did not require her to serve any jail time. He said that the, “lack of other criminal history and prior work in the community contributed to his decision not to sentence TenBarge to prison.” according to another article in the Evansville Courier and Press.
After which according to an article by WEHT, Mrs. Tenbarge continued to exploit her privileged position by violating the probation agreement. Mrs. Tenbarge was caught selling property that she owned under her maiden name, which was not listed as an asset in her case and part of her probation agreement. Judge Young sentenced her to 30 days in jail for violating her probation.
Fraud occurring in Indiana Trustees offices and non-profit offices is becoming more and more common in Evansville and all over Indiana. For example in 2014, in an unrelated case, a Caulmet Township Trustee out of Gary, Indiana was convicted of fraud, extortion, tax offenses, and making false statements, according to a FBI Statement. In a follow up article, Mrs. Mary Elgin remains in federal prison.
In January of 2021, Katina Miller, the former Trustee of Bearcreek Township in Bryant, Indiana was charged with two counts of Wire Fraud. Miller is accused of embezzling $86,755.39 according to the Department of Justice website. In August of 2022, Mrs. Miller was convicted of wire fraud to the sum of $131,503.
In yet another fraud case in Tippecanoe County, Indiana where the Fairfield Township Trustee, Taleatha Coles was charged with 42 crimes according to a Journal & Courier article. She is currently awaiting trial in 2023 in Tippecanoe Superior 1 on a variety of charges, including theft, official misconduct, fraud and corrupt business influence.
In yet another case in Indiana, in which a Clay Township Trustee from the Kokomo area has been charged this year (2023) with wire fraud. More to come as this story unfolds.
Here in Evansville and as of recently, Pigeon Township Trustee Mariama Wilson and two others were charged with wire fraud and being involved in a “kickback scheme”. According to an Evansville Courier and Press article, the contractor that was hired, Terrance Hardiman was implicated in the scheme. In a seperate and unrelated incident, Mr. Hardiman was also charged in January of 2023 with defrauding an Evansville resident out of $60,000 in which he left the work largely uncompleted, according to the Tristatehomepage article. In that article it was revealed that “….Terrance Hardiman dba Hardiman Construction is not a licensed contractor…(and should not) accept money as payment or perform any construction work on an individuals property in Vanderburgh County,” it states in the affidavit.
Later in a follow up article in the Evansville Courier, the State Boards of Accountants claims that Pigeon Township Trustee Mariama Wilson and William Payne should be responsible for reimbursing over $55,000. As well as another $31,383 in investigative costs incurred. Their cohort, Terrence Hardiman has since pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. In the plea agreement, Hardiman admitted to conspiring with Wilson and Payne in the kick back scheme according to this Evansville Courier article.
Both Wilson and Payne continue to deny any wrong doing. Payne, a vocal activists for mostly racial causes, continues to post cryptic messages to his Facebook page alleging that God is testing him. Later posting psuedo-threats to the Democratic Party and the future of black votes in Evansville if the vote doesn’t go a certain way. This Curmudgeon asks, do you think these alleged black voters are going to switch to the Republican party? This Curmudgeon doesn’t believe so. And any political party that allows thugs and criminals to remain in their party would be complicit in their acts.
On July 1st, Ruby McGlown was elected by a Democratic caucus to replace former trustee Mirama Wilson. This is the 2nd time that the Vanderburgh County Democrats have had to hold a caucus to replace one of their criminally charged Trustee’s in Vanderburgh County. It was in 2010, that Linda Durham was replaced with Kathryn Martin during a democratic caucus under similar circumstances. At the time, Martin worked in the Trustees office and was viewed as a new and upcoming democrat doing good things in the community. To this day, she has proven her virtue and we can only hope that the Democratic caucus proves just as fruitful again with the selection of Mrs. Ruby McGlown.
During a follow up investigation, the Evansville Courier and Press discovered that open access to the Pigeon Township Board and discussions with their Board Members was not happening. That Executive Board meetings are/were being held in private according to the C&P article.
The questions that this Evansville Curmudgeon asks…
Do Trustee offices need more oversight? According to Kathryn Martin, Knight Township Trustee in Evansville, Indiana, the answer is “yes”. In a recent WFIE 14 News article, Mrs. Martin has this current advice for voters, “When you’re voting, pay attention,” said Martin. “Everything we do in our office is our resume, it’s our interview, it’s our hiring process for the four years prior to the election when it comes to township government.”
What vetting policies and processes do Trustee and govt. funded non-profits offices follow?
Do Trustee offices have a Nepotism Policy?
Do Trustee offices have a Contracting Policy that requires them to follow Vanderburgh County Codes and Evansville Ordinances when hiring contractors?
Are Trustee offices or other non-profits that use taxpayer dollars, the source of large scale cronyism and political corruption in Indiana?
What is the point of a Township Board, if they are not there to review expenditures and to defeat the potential fraud that may come about? Shouldn’t all township board members be held accountable for signing off and approving these expenses? Aren’t they paid to do these jobs?
Why don’t Trustee offices need to follow the same open book, sunshine, and vetting laws that every other government agency/body follows?
Regarding non-profits, why do we take public monies and give them to non-profits that are under no requirements to follow the sunshine laws of Indiana?
Finally, this Curmudgeon would ask Judge Richard Young if he is as forgiving to the other fraudsters in town? Like those who embezzles, steals or defrauds a church for example? What deems a person a saint when they work in our community? In Stephanie Tenbarge’s case, a well paid person, who was caught stealing 6 figures worth of money/services from a notable non-profit and somehow she was deemed a community saint? Apparently working for certain non-profits, defrauding them for years on end, gets you this kind of political swagger with the elected judges? What about those who have no record, do community volunteer work, and don’t get paid squat for what they do in the community? Will they get the same ivory tower treatment that Stephanie Tenbarge got?