A Multonomah County employee has been ordered to repay nearly $39,000. The 37 year old, Diata Demanje Rhodes, had argued that she should not be sent to prison because she was depressed over a break-up with her boyfriend, an abortion, and the death of her dog, when she began to steal money from the County so that she could continue to gamble.
Rhodes was addicted to playing video poker, and used the money to fund her addiction and allow her to keep on playing. Her attorney, Michael Greenlick said that his client had been suffering from an addiction, and was now remorseful.
Rhodes resigned from her job in September, after county officials noticed that there was money missing from the petty cash account. She pleaded guilty to charges of theft in February.
The judge agreed with her lawyer's plea that she should not be sent to prison, and sentenced Rhodes to five years on probation, 160 hours of community service, and gambling treatment. She has been ordered to repay the money. "I don't want the wrong impression to go out -- the fact I'm not sending you to jail," the judge told Rhodes. "I take it seriously. We all take it seriously."
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