Ex-councilwoman, treasurer pleads guilty to theft

(AP) – A former Eastern Shore councilwoman has pleaded guilty to felony theft while serving as treasurer of a local organization.
    
State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt announced 82-year-old Mabel Mumford-Pautz’ plea on Wednesday.
    
Davitt says Mumford-Pautz paid nearly $45,000 in restitution at sentencing and Judge Keith Baynes gave her a suspended five-year prison sentence and three years’ probation.
    
According to a statement of facts, Mumford-Pautz wrote 84 unauthorized checks to herself from the bank account of the Eastern Shore Association of Municipalities while she was treasurer between 2008 and 2014.
    
Mumford-Pautz also was a longtime councilwoman in Chestertown.
    
Davitt says in a news release that Mumford-Pautz held a position of trust and violated that trust. He says a treasurer who betrays an association by stealing funds “must be held accountable.”