Downers Grove Resident Charged With Stealing From District 61

A former employee of Darien School District 61 was charged with stealing from the district after turning herself in, officials announced Friday. 

According to a district press release, the employee made fraudulent time sheet entries that inflated the number of hours which the defendant is entitled to be paid. 

Rosemary Deno, 61, of the 6000 block of Lee Avenue in Downers Grove, was charged with misdemeanor theft on Friday after turning herself in at the DuPage County Courthouse. Her next court date is March 13. 

School officials were aware this was happening last year. At the Aug. 28, 2012, board meeting, member Claudia Manley mentioned the incident. At that point, the employee no longer worked in the district and the $1,600 in stolen money was reimbursed to District 61.

Because of that, Manley said it was the majority decision of the school board to not pursue criminal charges against the employee. 

"Based on the fact that the employee no longer worked for us and the amount of money was recovered, it probably would have cost us more money in legal fees to do that," District 61 Supt. Robert Carlo said. 

The district conducted an internal investigation and considered the matter resolved at that Aug. 28 meeting. However, officials were later contacted by the DuPage County State's Attorney's office in reference to that meeting's minutes. 

"We were made aware of the allegations and conducted our own investigation," State's Attorney's spokesman Paul Darrah said. 

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