'Beyond ashamed and embarrassed.' Jail time ahead for Tri-County restaurant group theft

• Julianne Carpinelli must spend 90 days in jail and repay $149,999.
• The former employee says she stole because she needed to money to pay bills.
• The organization's board members say she betrayed their trust, and trust of the community.

CANTON ‒ When Julianne M. Carpinelli stole from the Tri-County Restaurant Association, she took money that would have been used to redeem gift certificates for Christmas or birthdays, and to teachers, customers and employees.

The embezzlement drained the organization's bank accounts - including one that funded scholarships - and brought a halt to redemption of the group's popular gift certificate program in Stark, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties because there was no money left to back them.

Carpinelli learned her punishment on Wednesday.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie R. Haupt sentenced the Plain Township resident to 90 days in jail and five years' probation for theft, a felony of the fourth degree.

She ordered the defendant to repay $149,999 in restitution to the nonprofit, perform 200 hours of community service and get a job that does not include financial responsibilities.

Girl certificate program halted:'She brought down a Stark County institution.'

Tri-County Restaurant Association theft 'a serious breach of trust'

"The court does believe that this is a serious breach of trust, not just against Tri-County and the work they do, but to the community as a whole and to the work that nonprofits do every day in this community," Haupt said. "Not imposing a period of incarceration would demean the seriousness of the offense."

Carpinelli, 58, stole the money when she was working part time as Tri-County's sole employee. She quit after the theft was discovered on July 31.

Jimmy Moorehouse, board member and membership chairman for the association, said Carpinelli's actions brought the association to its knees financially and caused it to lose the trust built in the community since its founding in 1949.

"Not only you stole from us, but from everyone who had purchased a TCR gift certificate," he said. "Will we be back? We don't know, but we are going to try our damnedest."

Inside job:Former Tri-County Restaurant Association worker facing theft charge over missing money

Tri-County Restaurant Association gift certificates

It is not known when or if holders of gift certificates will be able to redeem them.

Moorehouse said that with the criminal case concluded, the association can approach its insurer and try to get money to resume the redemptions.

Tri-County board member Deborah Busby said the theft from the nonprofit not only affected the association financially, but undermined the trust of its donors, its members and the community.

"We have had to expend additional resources and time to rectify the situation and ensure our financial controls are stronger going forward," she said.

"The board has spent countless hours wading through the paperwork, meeting with attorneys, talking to creditors, spending time in court and explaining to the public what happened to the Tri-County Restaurant Association and their beloved gift certificate program," Busby said.

The board member said she had trusted Carpinelli, standing up for her and advocating for her to receive an annual bonus.

"All the while you were stealing from us and laughing all the way to the bank," Busby said.

Admitting guilt:Thief who toppled Tri-County Restaurant Association gift certificate program pleads

Julianne Carpinelli:' 'I am sick about what I have done to TCRA'

Given the chance to speak on her own behalf at the sentencing hearing, Carpinelli said she was "beyond ashamed and embarrassed and angry at myself.

"I'm truly sorry for what I have done. I spend most of my days praying and trying to find ways to live with myself. Even when I am going through the day babysitting my great nephew or helping my 88-year-old mother-in-law who lives with us, I am sick about what I have done to TCRA."

Carpinelli said she took the money to pay bills because her family was financially strained. She said her husband was laid off or otherwise out of work every year for three to four months at a time. She said she thought she would be able to pay the money back.

"I wanted to turn myself in sooner than I did," she said. "I couldn't look at myself in the mirror anymore."

She said that making restitution "will change the way my husband and I live for the rest of our lives. Retirement is not something I will get to look forward to."

Carpinelli said she never thought she would be in this position.

"I had an amazing childhood, wonderful parents and grandparents," she said. "I was raised to love and follow God. I made huge mistakes and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it."

Prosecutor: Incarceration needed to deter others

Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Kassim Ahmed noted that Carpinelli said she stole because she was financially strained, but now the restaurant association is financially strained.

"Mrs. Carpinelli was using this as a personal piggy bank," he said. "In everything that we do, trust is the cornerstone of personal relationships, especially business relationships. The state believes that incarceration is necessary as a deterrent to others that might find themselves financially strained."

Busby said she was disgusted that she ever considered Carpinelli a friend.

"If you needed the money, here's a thought, Julie ... get a full-time job. You had no right to that money. The board over the Tri-County Restaurant Association's ... history has volunteered thousands of hours to ensure the strength, stability and longevity of the Tri-County Restaurant Association, only to have someone like you attempt to take it down."

Moorehouse, too, noted that association members had a personal connection with the woman who stole from it. He said Carpinelli had been his biggest cheerleader, congratulating him for getting new memberships and renewals.

"We hired her to watch our backs and the whole time she was stealing us blind behind our backs," he said. "Thank you, Julie, for making it hurt even more by sitting among us. breaking bread with us, pretending to be our friend. It would have been better if someone had just busted down the front door and took the safe."

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.