Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Arkadelphia City Treasurer Arrested

Arkadelphia's city treasurer has found himself in a world of trouble.

According to Henry Morgan, prosecuting attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, Brad Robertson has been charged with theft over $2,500, a class B felony, carrying a possible sentence of 5 to 20 years in prison and a fine of not more than $15,000.

According to Morgan, discrepancies in city accounts turned up during a regular audit. Further investigation by the state auditor into the matter showed Robertson had allegedly taken city funds.

He apparently attempted to replace or cover the stolen money with personal checks on his account.

However, some of these checks bounced, leaving the city short $3,371.80.

Robertson, 26, of Bismarck, allegedly committed the offenses from April through June 1998.

Under facts constituting reasonable cause in the incident, Darrell Morrison and Sharon Blaylock, auditors for the state, were conducting a routine audit on Arkadelphia's books on Aug. 16.

The audit dates began in May, 1999.

Robertson was told the city's treasury was short on deposits for May and June 1998 of more than $3,000.

Once told, he then reportedly attempted to replace the money with a check from his personal account in the amount of $1,591.72.

This check was deposited in Citizens First Bank of Arkadelphia May 28, 1999. It was returned for insufficient funds on June 8, 1999.

Auditors questioned Robertson about the returned check, with him allegedly saying the check had not been redeposited.

Auditors told Robertson on there were receipts written for $1,000 on June 17, 1998, with no deposits made for this amount. He was also told there were no deposits made on June 26, 1998, though receipts were written for $780.08.

This led to Robertson's being charged with theft over $2,500.