4 years and $44K for ex-Ellisville clerk | Free News
A former clerk who siphoned cash from customers’ water bills will be showering with strangers in a state facility for the next couple of years.
Emerald Wuertz, 34, of Ellisville was ordered to serve four years in the full-time custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections after pleading guilty in Jones County Circuit Court to embezzlement.
She paid $43,955.45 in restitution on Tuesday and appeared to be fighting back tears during the proceeding before being taken away in handcuffs to begin her prison sentence. She was represented by Jackson attorney Cass Cole.
Wuertz was serving as deputy city clerk for the City of Ellisville when she stole customers’ cash payments for their water bills, according to the investigation of the state auditor’s office. She would delete cash payments after they were entered then take the cash. Wuertz admitted that the allegations were true.
She was booked into the Jones County Adult Detention Center on the charge last September and was released on $20,000 bond until her case was handled in circuit court. She was facing up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $25,000.
The amount that Wuertz repaid included the cost of the investigation and court fees. It was paid by a $50,000 surety bond that many public-service employees have. Surety bonds are similar to insurance designed to protect taxpayers from corruption.
In addition to the prison time, she was ordered to spend two years on post-release supervision under MDOC and to the court’s community service program.
The case was prosecuted by the Jones County District Attorney’s Office.
Wuertz’s husband Scott is a former investigator with the Ellisville Police Department.
“Thank you to the investigators on my team who work to uncover and stop theft of taxpayer dollars around the state,” State Auditor Shad White said at the time of the arrest. “We will continue to work with prosecutors, who decide when to charge an individual with a crime.”
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