PTA's money vanished, spent on cable, cell phone, shopping

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PTA's money vanished, spent on cable, cell phone, shopping

Embezzler - Denied probation, the ex-Jim Bridger school PTA treasurer

gets prison

Sunday, February 22, 2009

AIMEE GREEN

The Oregonian Staff

Jackalin Lillie didn't hold back when it came to enjoying life's

small pleasures. She indulged in $4.20 coffee breaks, trips to first-

run movies and a $329 shopping spree at Ikea. She spent more than

$100 on cable and another $100 on her cell phone service per month.

But for more than 11/2 years, no one knew that the 41-year-old single

mom of two was financing her lifestyle by siphoning more than $12,000

from the Jim Bridger Elementary School PTA in Southeast Portland. Not

even her boyfriend, a corrections deputy for Multnomah County's jail

system.

On Friday, Multnomah County sheriff's deputies took Lillie, the

former PTA treasurer, into custody to begin a 13-month prison

sentence. She had pleaded guilty or no contest to 35 counts of theft,

identity theft and forgery. Lillie also pleaded guilty to theft for

stealing more than $1,000 out of the till of her employer, Safeway.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Bloch said even though Lillie had

no criminal history, he couldn't sentence her to just probation.

" Maybe in a moment of weakness you stole, but then, ma'am, you did it

again and again and again and again, " Bloch said, noting that Lillie

had dozens of opportunities to stop.

Lillie had pleaded to stay out of prison to care for the younger of

her two sons, a Bridger Elementary second-grader with autism.

" I need to remind you, ma'am, that this is a choice you made, " Bloch

said.

Parents from the PTA testified last week that Lillie's thefts

devastated the parents at the school, where 72 percent of the 350

students qualify for free- or reduced-priced lunch.

Lillie's deceit has been particularly tough for Clayville, a

former PTA president who discovered Lillie's theft. Clayville was at

the bank last June when she checked on the account balance and was

astounded to find only $104 in the PTA's account. Bank employees

showed her copies of checks on which Lillie had forged Clayville's

signature.

" I proceeded to throw up, " Clayville said.

She immediately reported the thefts, but authorities told her to hold

tight while they investigated. Clayville, who had become good friends

with Lillie, was having a birthday party for her daughter and had

already invited Lillie and her younger son. She couldn't uninvite

them without tipping Lillie off that something was up.

" I had to pretend like nothing was wrong, " Clayville said.

Clayville remembered in disgust how she had accompanied Lillie on

shopping trips and watched her spend money on shoes, the latest and

hottest video games and, on one trip, an iPod from the Apple Store.

Because Lillie blew the PTA money on herself and her sons, the

students suffered, parents said.

Lillie is one of a string of parents accused or convicted of taking

parent-group or booster-club money in recent years. Other schools

that have been hit in the past five years include Benson Polytechnic

High School in Portland, Holcomb Elementary School in Oregon City and

Vose Elementary School in Beaverton.

" The true needs of the children were sacrificed for lattes, video

games, iTunes, cable TV, Ikea furniture, flower delivery and a new

bike, " said deputy district attorney Demer, referring to debit-

card records that show how Lillie spent the money.

Demer said plenty of working-class parents get by without resorting

to crime.

" They shop at Goodwill or Craigslist, " Demer said. " They don't eat

out. . . . They don't have cable TV. They get DVDs from the library. "

Demer had asked the judge to give Lillie 26 months in prison. He said

Lillie had continued to deceive after being caught.

She wrote the judge a letter in January, explaining she could only

work part time as a $15.70-per-hour cashier at Safeway because she

needed to spend time with her special-needs son.

" According to DHS, I made too much for food stamps or other help, "

she wrote.

But as soon as Lillie learned the prosecutor was checking with the

Oregon Department of Human Services, Lillie fessed up. She wrote the

judge another letter saying she wanted to clear up

a " misunderstanding. " She had been receiving food stamps.

She also was getting federal Social Security payments for her younger

special-needs son of more than $500 per month, Demer discovered.

At her sentencing, Lillie apologized for the theft. As she learned

she was getting prison and not probation, she began to cry. Family

who came to support her, watched on, including her ex-husband, her

mother-in-law and the corrections deputy.

Lillie told the judge that her parents -- who live in Canada, where

she's a citizen -- have agreed to pay back the $12,438 to the Bridger

PTA.