Nov 4, 2016 3 min read

A Morgantown, W.Va., woman accused of stealing more than $22,000 from the East Dunkard Water Authority was found not guilty by Greene County Judge Lou Dayich following a nonjury trial Tuesday.

Laura A. Pugh, 40, who worked at the authority for 19 years in customer billing, was charged by state police in January with theft and receiving stolen property.

Pugh was accused of stealing $22,472 from the authority between April 2012 and April 2015.

Pugh was responsible for accepting cash payments, recording them and preparing bank deposit slips. Police said some of the cash payments recorded in the billing system were never deposited at the bank.

In an order issued Friday, Dayich said he was swayed by testimony of Charles Rupert, a witness for the prosecution, who was hired by the authority to perform an audit after the authority became aware of a possible theft.

The audit “revealed that there were ‘significant internal control deficiencies’ such that the Commonwealth cannot overcome its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Dayich wrote.

Dayich said prosecutors, through no fault of their own, could present only circumstantial evidence during the trial.

Lyle Dresbold, Pugh’s attorney, said he was relieved by the acquittal.

“Laura had maintained her innocence from the moment I met her,” he said. “We’re relieved that the judge was able to see that because of the many deficiencies in the accounting process of the water authority, there was no way of knowing where the money went.”

Dennis Makel, solicitor for the authority, could not be reached Friday for comment.

Dayich, in his order, cited testimony illustrating some of the accounting control deficiencies.

He noted the authority’s Quickbooks accounting system had not been “rectified,” or balanced against a bank statement, for nearly four years.

Though Michelle Popernack, the other authority office employee, continually made adjustments to balance the books, this was done in lieu of rectifying or otherwise attempting to track down any missing funds, he said.

The judge noted the billing system and Quickbooks, two separate systems, were never cross-checked against each other and all cash collections were commingled once placed in the safe.

Testimony also indicated deposit slips and daily collection reports were not completed on a daily basis, Dayich said.

“The commingling of the money and the lack of daily deposits made it impossible for the Commonwealth to establish with any precision as to the dates as to when the money was missing,” Dayich wrote.

He noted testimony indicated employee time sheets were inaccurate. It would appear, Dayich said, Pugh was not at work on certain days when money was allegedly stolen.

The judge further noted it was Popernack’s responsibility to make the daily bank deposits and she was the last in the office to handle the money.

“All of these factors taken together bode toward a finding of not guilty,” he said.

Dayich further noted accounting changes and better practices have since been implemented at the authority.