Condo embezzler sentenced

Woman to spend 6 months in jail, pay back $11,000

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By MITCH MAERSCH - GM Today Staff

March 4, 2005

Bridgett Freeman won't be spending time in prison, and Washington County Circuit Judge Patrick Faragher made sure she knew it was a rarity for her crime.

Freeman, 40, of Sheboygan, stole more than $11,000 from the Westridge Homeowner's Association in West Bend.

Thursday, she was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation, and was ordered to pay back $11,617.41. The sentence came on a joint recommendation from the district attorney and defense.

"I feel very strongly about employee theft. Employee theft oftentimes destroys a business," Faragher said.

"Accepting of responsibility is the difference between you going to prison and jail," he said. Faragher said he thinks he sentenced every other employee theft case to a prison term.

After Freeman was fired as bookkeeper from the association, the new bookkeeper noticed Freeman had frequently written checks to herself in the association's name, according to the criminal complaint.

Freeman was originally charged with two counts felony theft. Those were amended to misdemeanors in exchange for guilty pleas on both. Her maximum jail time was nine months on each count.

"As with any employee theft, it involves an abuse of trust," said Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens. "Particularly in the case of a condo association, people have an expectation that the bookkeeper is going to be honest."

"This was a really a brazen series of thefts," he said.

Defense attorney Deb Strigenz said Freeman took responsibility for her crime right away.

Freeman lives with her mother, who totally relies on her for care, Strigenz said. Freeman's husband lives in Mexico with her 6-year-old daughter. The husband, who is Mexican, is having trouble getting back to the United States since 9-11 due to tightened security, she said.

Freeman's 15-year-old son lives with her father in West Bend, she said.

"Miss Freeman was trying to support five people," Strigenz said. She supported more people than her income did.

"Every money she took she anticipated to pay back," she said.

Freeman took two jobs to help prepare her to pay restitution. One is at Comfort Keepers, a non-medical in-home care service for the elderly, and a factory job at Rockline Industries, both in Sheboygan.

Comfort Keepers wrote a letter supporting Freeman, saying she is one of the most-requested caregivers.

"I'd like the court and the association to know I'm sorry for what I did," Freeman said.

She was going through a difficult part of her life, she said.

Faragher said Strigenz is "probably" correct Freeman planned on paying back the money.

But she needed jail simply to punish her, not to protect the public, he said, as in the case of a fifth drunken-driving case.

Freeman is to report to Sheboygan County Jail April 24.

This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on March 4, 2005.

http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2005/March_05/03042005_06.asp