Taxpayers in little Jackson Township in Mercer County, population 1,181, were justifiably angry that some of their hard-earned money went to pay for “silicone nipple covers,” among other frivolities, purchased by secretary and treasurer Linda Baun.
For nine years, she systematically stole from the coffers to the tune of $150,000 and bought stuff for herself, then doctored the books.
On Thursday, she went to federal prison, although she got a big break from the judge.
U.S. District Judge Robert Colville gave her 100 days, far short of the 15 to 21 months that the U.S. attorney’s office wanted, although he did order her to pay full restitution of $150,000.
Baun, 73, who sold her house in Jackson for $220,000 in 2021 and bought a mobile home in Florida, had pleaded guilty in the fall to mail fraud.
As secretary, she stole from her friends and neighbors from 2011 to 2019 by making ATM withdrawals with a township debit card and charging personal expenses on Amazon to the card. To cover up her crimes, she made fake entries in the township’s QuickBooks account.
She bought all kinds of things: Water shoes for kids, a fitness tracker, a “weight loss trim hoop,” a mattress and those nipple covers — five pairs, in fact.
“The citizens of the township are rightfully upset and angry” at such “offensive” purchases, said Stephen Kaufman, Executive Assistant U.S. attorney, in sentencing papers.
Twenty-nine residents wrote letters to the judge describing Baun as a thief who betrayed everyone. Further, she did it over time so can’t claim it was a one-time lapse in judgment, as white-collar crooks sometimes do.
“It was premeditated and calculated,” one letter writer said. “Every withdrawal, every charge, every purchase was done with careful thought as to how she could hide it. She really has no defense other than greed.”
Kaufman said she doesn’t deserve leniency.
Her lawyer, Ryan James, argued otherwise. Although he couldn’t explain why she stole, he said she’s done a lot of good in her life, too.
“She’s not the worst thing that she’s done,” he said. “She is not the horrible person that the 29 residents of Jackson Township believe her to be. She’s a wife, mother, grandmother, and loving and loyal friend to many, who has experienced trials and tribulations like the rest of us. She is complicated.”
He also pointed to similar cases in federal court here in which secretaries or tax collectors ripped off their towns over time but still got breaks from judges.
One was Jeanne Bowser, the former tax collector for the Central Valley School District and Center Township in Beaver County who stole more than $1 million over eight years. Last year, the same judge, Colville, granted a downward variance from the 41 to 51 months she could have received and gave her a year in prison.
Another rogue secretary was Tammy Laird, who stole from tiny Corsica, a borough of 319 in Jefferson County. She embezzled $300,000 over eight years, forcing the town to double its taxes. The mayor even issued a personal loan to keep the borough running.
Yet U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer gave her 21 months last year instead of the 27 to 33 months called for in sentencing guidelines.
In Baun’s case, James argued for probation and home detention. He didn’t get that, but he did get a term well below the guideline range and three years of probation.
Baun had initially been charged in 2020 by state police with theft and other state-court offenses connected to the embezzlement.
The case was later adopted by the U.S. attorney’s office.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
