Kan. woman gets probation in church embezzlment

Eds: APNewsNow.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A 43-year-old Frontenac woman has been sentenced to three years probation for embezzling thousands of dollars from a church.

Lanora Michelle Driskill Spigarelli was also ordered Wednesday to pay $74,027 in restitution for embezzling money from Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Frontenac.

Spigarelli pleaded guilty in July to one count of mail fraud.

She admitted that she took the money from the church from January 2006 to September 2007 while she was the church's business manager. She was charged with mail fraud because she used the U.S. mail to send the money to pay her personal bills.

Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton said in June that investigators found 111 separate counts of alleged fraud, but they were reduced into one federal mail fraud charge.

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Information from: The Morning Sun, http://www.morningsun.net