Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Susan English - Stole To Help Grandkids


Arrested Jail Administrator Says Stolen Money's Gone

LABELLE, FL. -- Former Henry County Jail administrator, Major Susan Russe Sibbald English has told an investigator in a written statement that she blames her husband's loss of a job and having to take custody of two grandchildren as reasons for taking funds from a LaBelle jail account.

According to a 'probable cause' affidavit prepared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to gain an arrest warrant for Maj. English, a 53-year old 5' 3'' blonde, records at the jail indicated inconsistencies in the disposition of of funds from the accounts under her control, leading Sheriff Steve Whidden to call in the FDLE to investigate.

In March 2009, the FDLE was informed by the Hendry Sheriff's office of suspicious activity in jail accounts. It was learned that English made frequent cash withdrawals from the Olde Cypress Community Bank in LaBelle, but records documenting the cash withdrawals could not be found in her records. Cashed checks were made out in amounts from $355 to $3210 over three years.

In 2006, the affidavit says English cashed $31,329 at the LaBelle bank. The amount of cash taken rose in 2007 to $42,206, and in 2008 to $46,807. Tellers at the Olde Cypress Bank confirmed to investigators that English made frequent cash withdrawals from the jail account.

English made out the checks from a so called petit cash account so she could cash them, but wrote on the check stubs they were for various vendors to disguise them should anyone check. Lt. Michael Kosh provided a sworn statement that he was unaware of any type of 'cash drawer' at the jail. He said that English had told him in January 2009, just before her retirement to not tell the finance department or administration about the jail canteen account.

In May, FDLE Special Agent Ryan Walker interviewed English when she admitted to begin writing checks in 2006 for cash and cashing them at the bank, about one every two weeks she said.

English said the money was to pay for childcare for grandchildren, clothes, doctor bills for her grandchildren, and vehicle repairs for her personal vehicle. She said she had given her step children about $30,000 each from the cash from the jail account. English said she tried to cover up the thefts by writing on check that they were from a petit cash drawer, which actually didn't exist.

English claims that all the money she took has been spent. She says she is ''extremely sorry'' for everything she had done. She is out of jail on $25,000 bond and presumably is living in Westville, Florida, according to the arrest records.

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:42 PM

    and making a livin out of her restaurant and nice acreage and home up there with the "alleged" commercial kitchen equipment that she "alleged" took from the back of the jail i wanna know what else she, or ronnie, devon, nick, mayra, cheryl, knows or should have known.

    this whole county amazes me......... from the top down and i aint talkin just sheriffs dept either darn cities are just as bad...

    stupidity with "alleged" intelligence

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  2. Anonymous9:18 PM

    Is ths the Fratelli's mom off of the Goonies movie

    Respectfully, TEA

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  3. Anonymous7:52 PM

    WHERE'S SLOTH??????

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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  4. Anonymous3:46 PM

    Who audits the books? Who protects the residents from the money side? Can someone please look into the procedures that they have or don't have for keeping employees from stealing from the tax payers? Don't we have enough trouble keeping our county services functioning without this (easily stopped) type of theft from happening INSIDE the Sheriff's office?

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  5. Anonymous9:03 PM

    This a very mean woman.
    She has hurt a lot of people for no reason.
    She deserves the maxium sentence for this crime.

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  6. Anonymous11:03 PM

    She does deserve to spend time behind bars for this crime. Her retirement benefits should be taken and paid to the HCSO. I bet it would be enough to hire a deputy or a corrections officer.
    Being extremely sorry just isn't enough.

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  7. Anonymous6:22 PM

    Before you past judgement on someone about being mean....you need to get to know them. I don't up hold her in taking any money but she hasn't been proven guilty yet. Also who is to say she took the 120,000 by herself. Are you sure that someone else wasn't helping get the money too and letting her take the complete route for this? Another point you need to clean around your own back door. I am sure you all have skeltons too personality or with your family. The papers stated that one of my family members was caught with 700,000 of meth and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time that was proven in court! She is a very nice person and she gives too much is her biggest problem. She will help anyone that she can. Like I said Get to really KNOW someone for passing judgement because that is what is wrong with the world. Don't kick an old dog when their down ...offer them a hand that is what JESUS would do!

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  8. Anonymous8:23 PM

    They bragged to her husbands uncle about all the money she had and paid cash for thier property in Holmes county ..the state should take that property along with her property in hendry county..Also they should take all of her retirement ..until all of this money is paid back..EVERY CENT!

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  9. Anonymous10:16 AM

    How do you know she bragged to her husbands uncle? Are you part of the family to know this information? Alot of people are just talk and listen to much to rumors.

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  10. Anonymous9:49 AM

    Her pension is 99% of her salary for the rest of
    her life.She lost that also. Dumb move Sue

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  11. Anonymous6:33 PM

    What ever happen to this thief did she go to jail or what.

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  12. Most criminal cases take at least a year before a trial is scheduled. The arrest was in August 2009 so a trial may be this fall. There are still hearings on this case in August but no trial scheduled yet.

    -Editor

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