Ex-Barre tax collector gets year in jail for stealing $250K
By
Gary V. Murray
Telegram & Gazette Staff
Posted Nov 27, 2018 at 12:59 PM
Updated Nov 28, 2018 at 11:10 AM
WORCESTER - Former Barre tax collector Marcia J. Langelier was
sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to pay restitution in an amount
to be determined after pleading guilty Tuesday to stealing about $250,000 in town funds and gambling it away.
Ms. Langelier, 66, pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to charges of embezzlement by a municipal or county officer and making false entries in corporate books in connection with what Assistant District Attorney Greer Spatz said was the theft of about $250,000 from town coffers between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2011, while Ms. Langelier was serving as Barre’s elected tax collector. A charge of larceny over $250 by a single scheme was dismissed as duplicative with the embezzlement charge.
Judge Janet Kenton-Walker sentenced Ms. Langelier to one year in the House of Correction on the false entries in corporate books charge and placed her on probation for 3 years on the embezzlement indictment. As a condition of probation, Ms. Langelier was ordered to pay restitution to the town in an amount to be determined at a future hearing.
Her guilty pleas came on the day Ms. Langelier was scheduled to go to trial.
Ms. Spatz had recommended a state prison sentence of 3 years to 3 years and a day with probation to follow. The prosecutor asked that Ms. Langelier be ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined as a condition of probation and that she also be required to attend Gamblers’ Anonymous meetings.
The prosecutor said records obtained from the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos showed that Ms. Langelier accrued gambling losses totaling more than $300,000 from 2006 to 2012.
Ms. Spatz said Ms. Langelier essentially pocketed tax payments made by residents in cash and falsified town records to conceal her wrongdoing.
Citing Ms. Langelier’s lack of a prior criminal record, her lawyers, Adrian Angus and Laurel A. Singer, had asked that she be spared a jail or prison sentence and placed on probation with an order of restitution.
Ms. Spatz said Ms. Langelier was bonded and that the town was
expected to recoup $150,000 from the bonding company as a result of her
guilty pleas. Mr. Angus said his client had agreed to turn over her
pension to the town and that the funds would likely cover the remaining
$100,000.
Among those making impact statements during the plea hearing was Nancy Talbot, who took over as the town’s treasurer and tax collector after Ms. Langelier’s 2011 resignation before retiring last month.
Ms. Talbot said Ms. Langelier’s criminal conduct had a devastating financial impact on the town, leading to a significant reduction in public services, an inability to fund capital improvements and low wages for municipal workers. But the “greatest tragedy” resulting from the crimes was the loss of public trust in local government, according to Ms. Talbot.
Timothy Mara, a Barre resident whose home has been in his family for more than 90 years, recalled receiving demand notices for tax payments he had made in cash to Ms. Langelier. Mr. Mara said he and his family always made sure they paid their taxes in full and on time and that he considered the demands a “slap in our face” that questioned their integrity.
Mr. Mara said he was able to find several receipts for payments he had made, but was unable to locate one and had no choice but to pay a bill totaling about $775 for a second time. Mr. Mara said he hoped that part of the money recovered as a result of Ms. Langelier’s guilty pleas could be used to reimburse residents who were forced to pay tax bills twice.
“You violated a public trust,” Judge Kenton-Walker told Ms. Langelier before handing down her sentence.
Asked for comment after the plea hearing, Ms. Talbot said, “I feel that at least we have closure and the townspeople have closure. I’m not sure that sentences always fit the losses.
“I’m just glad it’s over. I would have liked her to apologize. It would have been complete closure, but at least she admitted it,” Ms. Talbot said.
Ms. Langelier, 66, pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to charges of embezzlement by a municipal or county officer and making false entries in corporate books in connection with what Assistant District Attorney Greer Spatz said was the theft of about $250,000 from town coffers between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2011, while Ms. Langelier was serving as Barre’s elected tax collector. A charge of larceny over $250 by a single scheme was dismissed as duplicative with the embezzlement charge.
Judge Janet Kenton-Walker sentenced Ms. Langelier to one year in the House of Correction on the false entries in corporate books charge and placed her on probation for 3 years on the embezzlement indictment. As a condition of probation, Ms. Langelier was ordered to pay restitution to the town in an amount to be determined at a future hearing.
Her guilty pleas came on the day Ms. Langelier was scheduled to go to trial.
Ms. Spatz had recommended a state prison sentence of 3 years to 3 years and a day with probation to follow. The prosecutor asked that Ms. Langelier be ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined as a condition of probation and that she also be required to attend Gamblers’ Anonymous meetings.
The prosecutor said records obtained from the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos showed that Ms. Langelier accrued gambling losses totaling more than $300,000 from 2006 to 2012.
Ms. Spatz said Ms. Langelier essentially pocketed tax payments made by residents in cash and falsified town records to conceal her wrongdoing.
Citing Ms. Langelier’s lack of a prior criminal record, her lawyers, Adrian Angus and Laurel A. Singer, had asked that she be spared a jail or prison sentence and placed on probation with an order of restitution.
Among those making impact statements during the plea hearing was Nancy Talbot, who took over as the town’s treasurer and tax collector after Ms. Langelier’s 2011 resignation before retiring last month.
Ms. Talbot said Ms. Langelier’s criminal conduct had a devastating financial impact on the town, leading to a significant reduction in public services, an inability to fund capital improvements and low wages for municipal workers. But the “greatest tragedy” resulting from the crimes was the loss of public trust in local government, according to Ms. Talbot.
Timothy Mara, a Barre resident whose home has been in his family for more than 90 years, recalled receiving demand notices for tax payments he had made in cash to Ms. Langelier. Mr. Mara said he and his family always made sure they paid their taxes in full and on time and that he considered the demands a “slap in our face” that questioned their integrity.
Mr. Mara said he was able to find several receipts for payments he had made, but was unable to locate one and had no choice but to pay a bill totaling about $775 for a second time. Mr. Mara said he hoped that part of the money recovered as a result of Ms. Langelier’s guilty pleas could be used to reimburse residents who were forced to pay tax bills twice.
“You violated a public trust,” Judge Kenton-Walker told Ms. Langelier before handing down her sentence.
Asked for comment after the plea hearing, Ms. Talbot said, “I feel that at least we have closure and the townspeople have closure. I’m not sure that sentences always fit the losses.
“I’m just glad it’s over. I would have liked her to apologize. It would have been complete closure, but at least she admitted it,” Ms. Talbot said.
Article VII of the Bill of Rights to our Constitution found in our in abeyance National States of America Constitution guarantees a Common Law Jury to those who wish it. It would have been interesting to see how this trial would have gone with local jurors deciding the case perhaps Mr. Mara's concerns would have been answered. Putting this woman in jail seems like a real waste of money to me.
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