Ex-Canyon County employee gets 3-17 years
NAMPA (AP) - A former Canyon County Assessor's Office employee accused of stealing more than $400,000 from the agency to help financially strapped relatives has been ordered to spend at least three years in prison.
Catherine Benoit, 58, was sentenced by 3rd District Judge Gregory Cutlet on Wednesday. Under terms of the sentence, Benoit must serve at least three years in prison, but her term could stretch another 14 years.
Benoit, who worked for the office for 28 years and handled vehicle registration services for the county, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of grand theft. A state investigation concluded she pocketed about $403,000 in vehicle registration fees over a period of nine years. Benoit said she was motivated by a desire to help her adult children deal with their economic problems.
The judge has not yet set a restitution amount in the case, but characterized Benoit's actions as an addiction.
"You stole to support a habit of bailing out your family," Culet said, according to the Idaho Press Tribune. "It became your routine. It becomes part of your day just like making your bed in the morning."
Prosecutors said Benoit took the registration fees and then lied in county records, reporting customers had lost their vehicle license stickers in the mail and hadn't paid for their registration.
Benoit told the judge she was ashamed of her behavior and is enrolled in counseling to address her problem of putting the needs of others above herself.
"I want to pay for what I did because if I don't, I will never have dignity again," Benoit said. "I apologize to all the people that trusted me and had faith in me. I apologize to the public."
The judge and prosecutor admonished government officials for not catching on to the theft sooner. Benoit is the second county employee convicted for stealing vehicle fees.
In August, Shawna Maggard, who worked at the county office since 1991, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years probation for taking an estimated $1,800.