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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Putnam sheriff's wife admits embezzling more than $100K
Findlay Inn & Conference Center -Downtown Findlay
OTTAWA -- The wife of the Putnam County sheriff has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $100,000 from the Ohio Farmers Union.

Kathy Beutler pleaded guilty to aggravated theft, a third-degree felony, during an appearance Wednesday in Putnam County Common Pleas Court, Ottawa, according to information from WFIN radio and the Putnam County Sentinel.

She entered the plea in response to a bill of information submitted by special Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr. of Tiffin. A bill of information is an agreement between attorneys that the accused will plead guilty. It bypasses submitting a case to a grand jury for consideration.

Beutler, of Columbus Grove, admitted stealing more than $100,000 from her former employer, the Ohio Farmers Union, 1011 N. Defiance St., Ottawa. She was the organization's treasurer.

She had been on paid leave since an investigation was started in the summer by the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

She was represented by attorney Kurt Sahloff of Ottawa.

Visiting Judge Keith Muehlfeld, of Henry County Common Pleas Court, ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 1.

Beutler was released on her own recognizance. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and restitution.

Beutler is the wife of Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler, a 30-year veteran of the sheriff's office.
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14 Comments (2 pages)

Latest comments listed first.
Doug W wrote:
Little People
“ What petty little people to kick a man while he's down. According to you, entire families should be prosecuted for any infraction of the law by any member of the family. I'll say it again what petty little people. ”
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 7:19:50 AM
Barb Diemer wrote:
Sheriff Jim Beutlerh
“ For weeks I had a letter I wanted printed in our local Putnam County Sentinel. This letter pertained to corrupt activity involving Sheriff Jim Beutler. Today the editor informed me it was too long,said it had 1,000 words. Not true. You can read this letter on "Your 2 cent's" on the Putnam County Sentinel web site. By the way the editor is related to Sheriff Buetler. ”
Monday, June 07, 2010 6:42:01 PM
Pat wrote:
Sheriff Beutler
“ Sheriff Beutler's plea to his wife's crime is ignorance - is this the level of intelligence we want for our County Law Enforcement Leader? If the commissioners don't do anything about the situation - they are just as ignorant. ”
Monday, June 07, 2010 1:11:50 PM
Barb Diemer wrote:
sheriff's wife
“ Sheriff Jim Buetler couldn't police is own home so why can't Putnam County citizens see he can't police his county either.County commissioners can ask him to resign. ”
Monday, June 07, 2010 10:04:17 AM
Brenda wrote:
Jim Buetler
“ I remeber when he was married to Jeannie Lyle.
He was a mean egotistical man then and now playing a dumb man!
 ”
Sunday, June 06, 2010 6:45:21 PM
Scott Mastrocinque wrote:
Re: Toast
“ I fully understand the way the Ohio Revised Code works. However, my beef is that there is MUCH more to the story here than is being plead guilty to by Kathy Beutler. This appears to be a sweetheart deal, trying very hard to be quietly and quickly rushed through the court. Furthermore, it is an insult to the common man, who upon committing any of a number of lesser crimes, is immediately taken into custody, while this woman who plead guilty, is allowed the luxury of freedom. She should be in jail right now. Lastly, what amazes me is the cavalier disregard for the concept put forth by many here, that the husband would seem oblivious to even noticing his wife's new-found riches! I noticed if my spouse came home with extra expensive groceries, let alone if it was the spoils of a $100k+ theft. I believe the Sheriff has some explaining to do and the matter needs further investigation. Again, this is not a few bucks from petty cash, it's over $100,000 ! ”
Monday, September 28, 2009 2:44:21 AM
Toast wrote:
Response to criticisms
“ bt: Five years as a maximum for a theft of this magnitude is set by the Ohio General Assembly, and has nothing to do with the "crooked sheriff."

Scott: Kathy Beutler pled to the crime as charged. No one can stop a defendant from pleading "guilty" to the crime with what they are charged. Simply because she pled guilty does not mean any deal was in place. We'll have to wait to see if a "plea bargain" even exited. Also, a trial on this issue could cost Putnam county tens of thousands of dollars. Her guilty plea saved the county a ton of money. This should NOT be the main reason for a plea deal, but it IS a factor that should not be ignored. ”
Sunday, September 27, 2009 7:36:38 PM
Scott Mastrocinque wrote:
She made a mistake?!?!
“ Are you kidding me? This woman did not steal a few hundred bucks from petty cash. She stole in excess of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Obviously, over a period of time, in small increments, OVER AND OVER again. You actually have the hutzpah to call this "a poor choice"? I'm curious, if it had been two hundred thousand dollars, would that have just been perhaps a "bad hair day"? I don't see anybody acting holier-than-thou here except you! You actually are chastising everybody else because they call a spade, a spade, and don't try to whitewash and candy coat it like you try to. ”
Saturday, September 26, 2009 9:06:10 PM
lisa94582 wrote:
Kathy Beutler
“ Kathy apparently committed a felony. Her husband is the county sheriff. There. She made a mistake. A HUGE mistake, and a mistake all the same. Who among you has not made a poor choice? The comments on this story are truly disturbing (not to mention many of them alarmingly poorly written). What's REALLY wrong here is this collective exuberance to attack. This holier-than-thou attitude is nauseating. ”
Saturday, September 26, 2009 5:12:10 PM
J wrote:
What?
“ He is a Sheriff, and he didn't realize that his wife had this much unexplained income. Either he knew and is as guilty as his wife, or he is incompetent, either way he should not be reelected. ”
Thursday, September 24, 2009 4:47:51 PM
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News Briefs Firefighters discover 20 marijuana plants in house
After fighting a house fire early Monday at 815 Howard St., firefighters found 20 marijuana plants in the residence.

"They ran across it and called us," said police Sgt. Justin Hendren with the Hancock County METRICH Drug Enforcement Unit.

Police seized all 20 plants, and Hendren said charges are pending.

High-powered growing lights, fans, and a box filled with dried marijuana were also found in the house, according to a police report.

Investigators said an electrical short started the fire before 3 a.m. Monday.

The blaze caused an estimated $12,000 in damage to the residence, owned by Amanda Crawford. No one was injured, according to the Findlay Fire Department.

Carey announces holiday closing
CAREY -- Carey offices, including administrative, income tax and utilities, electric, wastewater treatment plant, and public works, will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.

The curbside recycling program will be held Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 7-9.

Findlay trooper named sergeant
Trooper Jacob L. Fletcher, assigned to the Findlay post of the State Highway Patrol, was promoted to sergeant Wednesday by Patrol Superintendent Col. David Dicken.

With the promotion, Fletcher will stay at the Findlay post and serve as an assistant post commander, according to the patrol.

Fletcher began his patrol career in 2002 after graduating from the 139th Academy class and has been assigned to the Findlay post since.

Owens announces holiday schedule
The Toledo and Findlay campuses of Owens Community College will be closed Saturday through Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

There will be no classes and the college offices will be closed.

Classes will resume and offices will open again on Tuesday.

Holiday changes ad deadlines
The Courier won't be published on Monday, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

Because of the holiday, some advertising deadlines have been moved up this week:

Black and white display advertising for Tuesday's newspaper must be placed by noon Friday. Display advertising for Wednesday's newspaper must be placed by 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Color display advertising for the Thursday, Sept. 9 newspaper must be placed by Friday.

Classified advertising and City and Country advertising for Saturday's newspaper must be placed by 2 p.m. Friday. Classified ads for Tuesday's newspaper must be placed by 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Courier business and advertising offices will close at 3 p.m. Friday for the holiday.