Faced with a string of embezzlement allegations at community recreation programs, Baltimore County's recreation board voted Wednesday to strengthen background checks for some volunteers.
At least three alleged thefts by volunteers have come to light since last year. The former treasurer of the Back River Neck Recreation and Parks Council was sentenced to jail time last month. Arrest warrants have been issued for a former vice president of the Lansdowne-Riverview Recreation and Parks Council. And a former treasurer with the Arbutus Athletic Association is awaiting trial on a theft charge.
The county has screened volunteers for sexual offenses, assaults and drug dealing, but not for financial crimes. The woman accused of stealing more than $20,000 from the Lansdowne council passed her background check, even though she had convictions for theft.
The county's Board of Recreation and Parks voted to expand the background checks for volunteers who have access to the local programs' bank accounts, and to require them to be bonded.
Board members did not set a timeline for the new requirements, but plan to decide details of the policy at their September meeting.
The recent cases have shocked local recreation councils.
"We were not only stunned, but we were hurt," said Tully Sullivan, president of the Back River Neck Recreation and Parks Council, whose former treasurer pleaded guilty to felony theft after being accused of stealing more than $35,000.
"A number of our members were extremely angry," Sullivan said. "Me, personally, I was very disappointed and upset that someone who we gave our trust to did that to the children."
A county prosecutor met with council leaders this spring to explain how to report theft and safeguard against fraud. Local groups have been encouraged to stop using debit cards for purchases and to make people register online for activities so cash doesn't have to change hands, said Barry Williams, director of the county Department of Recreation and Parks.
Erik Carrozza, president of the Center for Fraud Prevention, said he has documented hundreds of cases of embezzlement from youth sports associations nationwide.
The center, based in the Philadelphia area, works to prevent such thefts.
Because youth sports associations are typically community-based, he said, "all the people on the board know each other, or they're friendly, and so it creates this environment where they're reluctant to challenge or question financial transactions."
Carrozza said local recreation programs need basic financial controls, such as assigning one person to write the checks and another to balance the books.
"It shouldn't be about trust," he said. "Just because someone is your neighbor or your kid's friend and they're the treasurer, that doesn't mean that you should trust them."
Some people might not want a theft to become public.
"It's embarrassing for the rec council and they just as soon try to deal with it quietly and not make a big fuss," said Eric van den Beemt, chairman of the Board of Recreation and Parks. "And we don't know how many of those there are."
Williams said people sometimes ignore a problem because they don't want to embarrass a volunteer.
"I've encouraged them not to do that," he said. "It's not about being nice. It's about doing the right thing."
Baltimore County's 46 recreation and nature councils are independent nonprofit organizations with their own elected officers and volunteers. The local groups raise their own money, but the county provides guidance and facilities.
In the Back River Neck case, former treasurer Shane Gleason, 30, pleaded guilty to felony theft. He was sentenced in June to 18 months in jail, court records show.
In charging documents, authorities say Gleason wrote more than 30 unauthorized checks out to himself and twice made unauthorized withdrawals with a check card, totaling nearly $36,000. Authorities say he admitted to police that he stole about $28,000.
An attorney for Gleason did not return requests for comment.
Marvin B. March is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the Arbutus Athletic Association, which he served as treasurer. March, 64, is charged with one count of felony theft. A trial is set for July 19, according to charging documents.
Authorities accuse March of stealing roughly $5,600, allegedly to pay personal cell phone bills between 2010 and 2014. The athletic association made an "unwritten agreement" not to report the incident to police if he resigned and repaid the funds, according to charging documents..
March repaid the money, the documents state, but a county detective received information about the alleged theft in December 2015 and began investigating.
Authorities say the detective learned that roughly $3,600 more had been taken in ATM withdrawals between 2009 and 2013. When confronted by a member of the association board, authorities say, March said he did not put the money for personal use.
An attorney for March declined to comment. Monika Campbell, president of the recreation council in Arbutus, said the money has been repaid and the issue is resolved.
Baltimore County recreation board member Leslie Monfred urged parents to check the county's approved volunteer list, posted on the county website, to ensure their children's coaches have met background check requirements.
Officials with other recreation departments in the Baltimore region said they were not aware of theft within their agencies. All departments in the area require background checks for volunteers who work with children.
Harford County is planning to audit the financial practices of its 22 recreation councils. The review is not in response to any incident, county spokeswoman Cindy Mumby said, but is part of a larger audit of county government.
Volunteers in Howard County are not allowed to handle money for the Department of Recreation and Parks, spokeswoman Anna Hunter said. A central county staff takes care of registration and payments.
Most volunteers in Baltimore do not handle money, spokeswoman Gwendolyn Chambers said, but some coaches collect referee fees.
"We are working to move toward no cash handling in all operations," Chambers wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.
Adam Lippe, an assistant state's attorney in Baltimore County, met with county recreation council leaders recently to discuss how to prevent theft.
"You usually have very few volunteers doing a lot of work," he said. "Then there's no checks and balances.
"To have a functioning community association, you need a lot of people and you need a lot of transparency."
He said the councils "shouldn't let people get away" with theft.
"They shouldn't get into repayment plans," he said. "Each individual rec council should know that they can make a phone call [to authorities], and they shouldn't just ignore or forgive a problem."
Shalanda Nix, a former vice president for Lansdowne-Riverview Recreation and Parks Council, was charged last year with stealing more than $20,000 by making unauthorized withdrawals from the council's bank account.
Nix had theft convictions in Baltimore and Charles counties, but she was still approved to volunteer with Baltimore County.
Gleason and Nix both remain on a roster of approved volunteers posted on the county website.
The county board voted Wednesday to decertify the Lansdowne council. The organization will not be formally recognized by the county and will lose county insurance coverage.
Van den Beemt said the council had been on probation for more than a year because it failed to meet certification guidelines and there was "constant turmoil within the executive board."
When the money in Landsdowne-Riverview went missing, parents scrambled to make up the loss with raffles, car washes and other fundraisers.
"It was shocking," parent Casandra Lancaster said as she sat on the lawn of Lansdowne Middle School to watch a practice of the Lansdowne Shooting Stars, a girls pom-pom group run by the council.
"We had to do a lot of fundraising before our season even started."
Nix, 40, was charged with felony theft in Anne Arundel County, where the recreation council's bank account is located. Authorities have issued a warrant for her arrest. No current attorney is listed in court records, and Nix could not be reached for comment.
Another arrest warrant was issued in Baltimore County after Nix failed to appear for a court hearing in connection with charges related to a separate theft case, according to court records.
Donte White, president of the Lansdowne-Riverview council, said leaders have put new financial controls in place and plan to switch to online registration later this year.
The group is recovering financially, White said, but members are frustrated that Nix has not faced the charges in court.
"We haven't gotten our justice," he said.
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