Brandon Twp.- Former Belle Ann Parent Organization treasurer Lori A. Ruhle entered a plea of no-contest to embezzlement of $200 but less than $1,000 on July 15 in Oakland County District Court.
She is scheduled to be sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Richard Kuhn on Sept. 14. The court dismissed one count of embezzlement of $1,000 but less than $20,000, which if convicted, carried a maximum of five years in prison and/ or several thousand in fines.
In December 2003, a warrant was issued for Ruhle, following a five-month investigation after members of BAPO reported discrepancies in bookkeeping records. On Jan. 5, Ruhle, was arrested and charged in Oakland County District Court with embezzling $2,688 in funds collected by the private fund-raising organization.
Ruhle, a part-time Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School employee, served as BAPO treasurer from 2002-2003 and is currently on personal leave without pay.