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player ready...About six months after Yorkville police began investigating the possible theft of as much as $200,000 from the Kendall County Food Pantry, felony charges have been filed against its former treasurer and a 77-year-old man.
A grand jury indicted both Kenneth M. Spaeth and William T. Crowley Tuesday in Kendall County on theft charges.
Spaeth, 55, was arrested on a warrant for theft Tuesday at his address in the 1300 block of Park Place, Sandwich, according to Kendall County Sheriff’s Office reports. Sheriff’s officials arrived at the address at about 12:45 p.m., took Spaeth into custody and transported him to county corrections for booking, according to the sheriff’s report.
Spaeth is charged with theft or unauthorized control of between $10,000 and $100,000, a class 2 felony, according to charges filed Tuesday in Kendall County. A bill of indictment alleges that between Dec. 1, 2013, though April 30, 2016, Spaeth “knowingly exerted unauthorized control over property of the Kendall County Food Pantry.”
Crowley, 77, is similarly accused of theft or unauthorized control of between $10,000 and $100,000, although the charges against him span a slightly different time frame than Spaeth’s between July 1, 2013, through March 31, 2016.
Bail for both men was set at $25,000 and warrant orders were issued for their arrests, according to the indictments. Spaeth posted the $2,500 cash bond on Tuesday.
Court records associate both Spaeth and Crowley with the same address on the 300 block of Emily Court in Yorkville.
Spaeth and his late wife, former Kendall County Food Pantry Executive Director Maria Spaeth, both resigned from their positions June 7. Obituary records for Maria Spaeth on legacy.com name William Terrance Crowley as Maria’s father.
Yorkville police began investigating the possible theft of up to $200,000 from the pantry in early June after more than one volunteer reported suspicious transactions and possible theft of funds from pantry accounts.
As part of the theft investigation, the Yorkville Police Department served search warrants June 1 on both the Kendall County Food Pantry building and a personal residence in Kendall County, according to officials.
Maria Spaeth died of a prescription drug overdose weeks after she resigned, according to the DeKalb County Coroner’s Office.
In July, Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis, who served on the food pantry’s executive board until May 2014, signed a motion to appoint a special prosecutor in the Kendall County Food Pantry investigation which listed only two suspects: Kenneth Spaeth and Crowley.
A Yorkville police detective advised Weis he may be a necessary witness in the case since he served on the pantry’s board and the granting of the motion would resolve any perceived conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety, according to the motion.
On Jan. 13, Charles M. Colburn of the Office of the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor signed an oath of office to serve as special prosecutor in the case.
The pantry listed $404,801 in revenue and $336,635 in expenses for the 2014 calendar year, according to a Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Tax forms state the organization is run by 90 volunteers, The Beacon-News previously reported.
Twitter @hannahmleone