Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So she gave herself a big raise - writing 37 checks to herself that totaled $42,350 during her last five months at the Harrison Museum of African American Culture.
Underwood, 31, pleaded guilty to embezzlement Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court.
She will be sentenced in June, and faces 20 years in prison for a scheme that was unusual, authorities said, in that so much money was taken, undetected, in such a short time.
It was only after checks from the annual Henry Street Heritage Festival began to bounce that museum officials learned that Underwood had emptied the account.
By the time state police agent Lynn Roach interviewed Underwood in February, the money was gone. Underwood said she had spent it all.
"She felt as if her services given to the museum were not recognized monetarily," Roach testified.
"She had put in hard work, long hours and overtime, and she felt it was not taken into consideration by the museum."
Underwood, who worked five years as the museum's secretary and bookkeeper, did not testify Monday.
Her attorney, Ray Byrd, said she apparently spent the money on bills and other expenses. There were no purchases of cars or luxury items, he said.
Authorities said little oversight of museum finances made it easy for Underwood to forge two signatures on the checks and cash them at banks or credit unions.
Melody Stovall, executive director of the museum, said Tuesday that steps have been taken to improve the museum's bookkeeping. She declined to elaborate.
The annual budget for the Henry Street festival is about $20,000, but Stovall declined to elaborate on how Underwood was able to take more than twice that amount.
"I'm not going to try to explain in detail the scheme of the embezzlement," she said. But since the theft was discovered, "there have been some good changes."
Stovall said the embezzlement will have no adverse effects on this year's festival, scheduled for Sept. 25.
The embezzlement started in September and ended in January, when museum officials asked police to investigate. Underwood was fired a short time later.
The investigation showed that she wrote checks to herself for $300 to $3,500. Notations on most of the checks cited the 1992 Henry Street Festival.
The festival, organized by the Harrison museum, showcases the diversity of African-American culture on a street that once was the hub of black social and commercial life in Roanoke. The third annual festival was held last September, about the time the embezzlement began.
When questioned by police, Underwood estimated she stole $15,000. "She seemed very surprised" when told of the actual amount, Roach testified.
by CNB