Kuhl sentenced

Mary Kuhl was given a deferred sentence on Friday for crimes related to misconduct during her time as county treasurer. She will serve two years of supervised probation as part of a plea agreement, after which the charges will be expunged from her record.

Kuhl originally pled “not guilty” to one felony charge of unauthorized use of monies, as well as to one misdemeanor count of official misconduct and two misdemeanor counts of issuing false certificate.

The allegations against her included that she listed a customer’s license plate tabs as lost in the mail but then placed them on her own vehicle; that she adjusted the tax system to hide missing money; and that she issued a false certificate so a personal friend could avoid paying registration fees.

The plea agreement saw all but the felony dismissed in exchange for a plea of “no contest” to the charges.

Kuhl Apologizes

Kuhl herself made a statement during the hearing.

“I would like to apologize to the constituents of Crook County,” she said. “It has been an honor to serve them for the past 23 years.”

Kuhl said she wanted to make clear that there is no money missing from the Crook County Treasurer’s Office. She has provided “competent service” during her time in office, she said, but made “mistakes” and sees now that she should have handled those transactions differently.

Plea Agreement

“In my career, I’ve never encountered a case like this,” said Special Prosecutor Greg Steward as he confirmed to Judge Stuart S. Healy III that he supports the plea agreement as presented.

Steward stated that some of the elements that make Kuhl’s case unusual include unique facts, a defendant serving in public office, no criminal history or history of substance abuse and a two-year timeframe. Money left Kuhl’s office but then came back and significant amounts of money have not been found missing, which leads him to believe she was treating the cash drawer almost like a “pay-day loan company”.

Steward also noted that Kuhl has already paid $199.17 in restitution, so, “she has made the county whole in that respect.”

Making what he referred to as an “editorial comment,” Judge Healy stated that it appears Kuhl, “knew that she was doing something that was not appropriate,” but had no excuse for it when questioned by the investigating officer. For this reason, he said, it doesn’t seem her actions were planned, but rather something that was “convenient at the time”.

Victims

One sticking point during the sentencing hearing was a victim impact letter submitted by all three county commissioners in December, which questioned whether allowing Kuhl to plead “no contest” would truly offer justice to the taxpayers of the county.

“Wyoming Statutes are put in place to protect the people from the abuse of power by those they elect,” stated the letter, listing concerns including the fact that Kuhl will be able to run for office again in the future if she successfully completes her probation, and that “no contest” is not a true admission of guilt.

“Public service is public trust. Elected officials take an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the State of Wyoming. By allowing this plea agreement, public trust and accountability of elected officials is broken. Elected officials should be held to a higher standard.”

Kuhl’s attorney, Jason Tangeman, stated that he and his client take issue with the idea that the commissioners, and through them the taxpayers of this county, are the victims in Kuhl’s case. As it appeared that the intent of the letter was to encourage the court to reject the plea agreement, he objected to its being considered.

However, Judge Healy said that, while this may be technically true, he feels the opinion of the commissioners who represent the taxpayers is important to the case.

“The court notes that, at the time of the [pre-sentence investigation], Ms. Kuhl did not believe there was a true victim in this case,” he said.

Judge Healy said that this caused him concern and made him hesitate in accepting the agreement. The citizens are indeed victims because Kuhl took an oath to serve in a position of public trust, he said.

Probation

Tangeman and Steward disagreed on the appropriate amount and type of probation that Kuhl should be made to serve. While the State asked for two years of supervised probation, Tangeman requested that the court consider a year of unsupervised probation.

Steward told the court that, in his opinion, the supervision is relevant. It acts as a deterrent both to the community – which would otherwise review the case and conclude there are no consequences for the type of actions Kuhl took – and to Kuhl herself.

Steward referred to the section of the letter from the commissioners that says public employees should be held to a higher standard.

He believes the overall outcome of the case has fulfilled this, he said, as Kuhl has experienced “heightened consequences” in the form of the removal proceedings that saw her lose her job. A civil suit filed by the Attorney General’s Office seeking Kuhl’s removal from office was dropped in October when Kuhl resigned.

However, a two-year term of supervised probation would show the community that the judicial system takes her case seriously, he said.

Tangeman, on the other hand, argued that Kuhl should be treated as a first-time offender. This is a person who has been gainfully employed and a member of the community for years, he said.

In terms of deterrence, Tangeman said that, “this has been a very public case in this very small community” and it has been rightfully painful for Kuhl to live through it on the front page of the newspaper. He also pointed out that she not only resigned, but was also terminated from her most recent job last week due to “pending felony charges”.

“There are very real consequences for her here,” Tangeman said.

Judge Healy stated his concern over the appearance that a deferred sentence would bring in terms of deterrence. However, he said it should be borne in mind that Kuhl has experienced appropriate public embarrassment and also resigned, saving taxpayers the cost of a jury trial.

“In essence, she accepted responsibility by resigning,” he said.

Noting that his decision runs contrary to the recommendation of the probation officer who completed the pre-sentence investigation, which said Kuhl was a candidate for unsupervised probation, Judge Healy announced a sentence of two years of supervised probation.

The judge said he agrees with the state that the supervision “brings at least a little bit of sting” to the felony charge, and requires Kuhl to, “feel the effects of the crime she committed.”