Woman charged with $200,000 theft

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – A former bookkeeper was charged Monday with stealing more than $200,000 from the Merrillville clerk-treasurer’s office.\nRosemary Barath, 67, was implicated after a State Board of Accounts audit of receipts and deposit records from the clerk-treasurer’s office between Jan. 1, 2000, and July 17, 2007, according to a probable cause affidavit.\nBarath, who was placed on unpaid leave in July, could face two to eight years in prison if convicted on the felony charge of theft. She was being released from the Lake County Jail on $20,000 bond Monday night, a jail employee said.\nThere was no answer Monday night at the only telephone listing for a Barath in Merrillville.\nEarlier, Barath declined to comment to the Post-Tribune of Merrillville and The Times of Munster.\nAccording to the affidavit signed by Indiana State Police Detective Chris Schramm, the Board of Accounts found about $66,000 missing from the sale or auction of town equipment and about $230,000 missing from receipts not deposited. The state board did not review years before 2000 because of the statute of limitations.\nClerk-Treasurer Rose Ann Antich-Carr told police an employee in the office noticed discrepancies with carbon copies of receipts. The affidavit alleged that checks had been substituted for cash and the cash had been taken.