http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-957678.mp3
We have learned of an embezzlement involving taxpayer dollars in case with an unlikely victim: Washington's Superior Court Judges.
No charges have been filed, but a federal investigation is underway into years of alleged theft at the Superior Court Judges' Association of Washington.
Judge Stephen Warning is the Association's current president. He says the Association's longtime bookkeeper is the prime suspect.
"Last April was when she was terminated. At that point we hadn't completed our investigation, but we were to the point where we felt that should happen."
Warning says as much as $400,000 in county-paid dues to the Association might have been stolen over several years. The Association has hired an attorney to see if any of the money can be recouped.
An attorney for the former bookkeeper questions the $400,000 figure and says her client has no criminal background and was just recently informed of the federal investigation.
