Woman who stole from Ridge gets jail in 2d case
HARRISBURG - A woman who once admitted stealing funds from former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's reelection campaign has been sentenced to prison for embezzling $1.2 million from a real estate development company.
HARRISBURG - A woman who once admitted stealing funds from former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's reelection campaign has been sentenced to prison for embezzling $1.2 million from a real estate development company.
Lauretta Simmons, 44, was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in federal prison for embezzling from Harrisburg-based Joseph V. Sweeney and Associates. Simmons, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud in May, was an administrative assistant at the company between 1999 and January 2009. Prosecutors say she used the money to purchase vacation properties, vehicles and other things.
In May 2000, Simmons pleaded guilty to mail fraud in the embezzlement of approximately $93,500 from Ridge's campaign. She was sentenced to prison but released after spending a short time in a halfway house. - AP