Former LCSO staffer faces charges

A former Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office detective’s assistant, fired from her position in June, faces a charge of felony embezzlement brought by a special prosecutor from the Montana Attorney General’s Office.

Amy C. Butler, 37, had worked for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years, most recently as the administrator for the department’s 24/7 Sobriety Testing program. The program requires arrestees, after being ordered by a judge, to provide breath samples twice daily to be tested for the presence of alcohol. The participants pay $2 per test, and it was Butler’s duty to account for the money.

In May, a discrepancy in the amount of money in the fund led to an investigation that determined more than $11,000 was missing from the fund.

An internal investigation ensued, and it was determined by Sheriff Roby Bowe and Undersheriff Brent Faulkner that money had not been properly deposited with the Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office.

An inquiry last week about how the case was proceeding prompted a statement from Bowe.

“Upon completion of the internal investigation, the sheriff referred the case to the County Attorney’s Office, and requested that any further criminal investigation an/or prosecution be conducted by the Attorney General’s Office,” stated a prepared release from Bowe. The release states Lincoln County Attorney Bernard Cassidy concurred with Bowe’s assessment and forwarded the case to the Attorney General’s Office.

Last week, Kenneth Varns, an assistant in the Montana Attorney General’s Office who has been assigned as the special deputy Lincoln County attorney, released an affidavit indicating sufficient evidence to charge Butler with felony embezzlement.

Until her departure, Butler monitored the alcohol-testing program that is supported by an Internet software program entitled IntoxiTrack, which is owned and operated by Intoximeter, Inc.

As tester, Butler monitored payments on a computer program, which may be used to generate an IntoxiTrack accounting report and places payments received into a lock box. The box has only two keys, one held by Butler and the other held by Undersheriff Faulkner, the undersheriff confirmed Tuesday. Faulkner said he could not comment further, but he added Butler would be arraigned on Jan. 13.

According to Varns’ affidavit in support of filing the charges, Butler had been the administrator since the program began late in 2011. Varns’ investigation concluded it was Butler’s duty to collect money from the drop box and deposit it into an account at the Lincoln County Treasurer’s Office.

Intoximeter charges $1 per test. The other dollar paid by the participant is used by the Sheriff’s Office, in part, to cover its cost of administering the program. Each month, Intoximeter sends an invoice that details how many tests were given and the amount the LCSO owes for those tests.

In May, Faulkner noticed the revenue expected from the program was unexpectedly low. Intoximeter, Inc., had billed the LCSO more than $7,000 for fiscal year 2012-13. This meant there should have been gross revenue of more than $14,000 generated from more than 7,000 tests deposited in the LCSO revenue account at the Treasurer’s Office. The actual deposits only totaled $4,437, Varns’ investigation discovered.

During the life of the program, Intoximeter, Inc., billed LCSO for 11,548  for breath samples. That number of tests should have generated $23,096 in gross revenue, Varns’ affidavit states. Since the beginning of the program, only $9,781 had been deposited.

The county believes $12,258 went unaccounted for during the life of the program. Butler is accused of taking $11,039.

After noticing the shortcoming, Faulkner advised Butler of the discrepancy, thinking at the time Intoximeter, Inc., had overbilled the Sheriff’s Office. Varns’ affidavit states, “Butler looked physically ill when she was told about the large discrepancy. Butler failed to respond to Faulkner’s request that she try to determine what happened.”

In his own investigation, Faulkner discovered that during the first four months of the program — December 2011 to March 2012 — there was an average reconciliation rate of 97 percent, between funds deposited and revenue expected.

Beginning in April 2012, the reconciliation rate began to drop. In June 2012, the rate fell to 34 percent, meaning that 66 percent of the revenue from that period was unaccounted for. From July 2012 forward, the reconciliation rate fell to 17 percent, meaning 83 percent of the revenue was unaccounted for.

Bowe’s subsequent investigation revealed that Butler had spent thousands of dollars at local casinos. In one establishment, Varns’ affidavit states, Butler had written checks for $8,800 since April 2012. Butler also had become a member at another casino during the same time. Writes Varns: “This closely corresponds to the time in which the revenue from the 24/7 sobriety program begins to have discrepancies with the Intoximeter billings.”

On June 5, Bowe interviewed Butler, and she was asked about her gambling. Varns’ affidavit states Butler indicated she “might have spent between $200 and $300 gambling during the timeframe in question. Bowe advised her that he knew better, based upon his investigation.” During that interview, Butler asked for a bathroom break, Varns wrote. Upon returning, Butler signed a Miranda waiver form. She then admitted she began taking money from the program in “about July 2012.”

Varns’ affidavit states Butler said she began taking money when a check from the father of her child for child support bounced. The affidavit states she took money from the 24/7 program to cover her expenses (about $240). This timeframe closely corresponds with the time at which the reconciliation rate between the tests performed and revenue fell to 17 percent, Varns writes.

Varns’ affidavit states Butler admitted she continued to take money. She said she took about $200 at a time. She took only $20 bills, nothing smaller. She believed she had not taken as much money as was determined to be missing from the investigation, but also acknowledged she had not kept track of how much money she was taking.

Varns’ affidavit states Butler felt she had taken about $5,000.

After the June 11 interview, Butler was fired.

In the months since Butler's dismissal, the revenue account reconciled with the Intoximeter billings at a rate of 100 percent, Faulkner said.

The program's reconciliation process and other accountability mechanisms were enhanced to eliminate any recurrence of the matter, Faulkner said. The program was new enough that it had not yet been subject to its first official external audit, which is forthcoming in the next few months.

“It’s a terrible situation for an individual who was one of our own,” Bowe said.

Efforts to reached Butler for comment on the embezzlement charge were unsuccessful.