The trial for Wood River Drainage and Levee District secretary and treasurer Jamie Butkovich has been continued to April 1 after she was charged with stealing district funds from March 2017 to September 2018.
The trial had been set for Jan. 7 in Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli’s courtroom.
Butkovich is represented by Steve Griffin of East Alton.
She was arrested by Wood River police on Sept. 26 and charged with theft over $10,000 and official misconduct. Madison County Circuit Judge Neil Schroeder set bond for Butkovich at $50,000.
According to a police report, Butkovich allegedly stole $67,661.41.
Detective Sergeant Christopher Johnson created the initial report on Sept. 13, which includes 15 pages of debit card transactions considered “suspicious.”
According to the report, Johnson looked for any transactions that were not consistent with City business and transactions commonly used in craft projects given Butkovich’s side business, Jamie's Crafts.
The police report initially indicated a total of $44,753.27 spent on suspicious transactions, which increased to $67,661.41 after a forensic audit was conducted.
During an interview with Johnson and Detective Brenton Rombach, Butkovich said she had access to all three city debit cards and PIN numbers and was able to withdraw money from all accounts.
She told detectives that she had withdrawn money without authorization to buy wreath supplies for her craft business.
She also said she was using money from the district accounts to pay for her parents’ bills and keep them “afloat,” saying her mother was in the hospital and her father had suffered a stroke, the report states.
She also admitted to transferring money from district debit cards to her personal Paypal account.
“Jamie said that she knew what she was doing was wrong, and wanted to quit every time she make (sic) an unauthorized transaction,” the report states.
“Jamie said that she was aware that the money she stole was taxpayer money, and that she wanted to pay the money back,” it later adds.
“Jamie said she was not really hiding anything she was doing, stating that she knew she would eventually get caught,” it continues. “Jamie said that stealing money from the City was starting to ‘get to her.’”
The money withdrawn by Butkovich included a total of 56 transactions where $203 was withdrawn from an ATM at the Woodstock Bar in Alton, totaling $11,368. There were also 13 withdrawals from the Moose Social Club in Edwardsville for a total of $5,637.
Money was also withdrawn at several casinos, including Argosy Casino in Alton, Hollywood Casino in St. Louis and Ruby’s Gambling in Alton.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 18-CF-2868