A former Pequot Lakes High School math teacher was sentenced on June 28 in Crow Wing County District Court for stealing money from the teacher’s union.
Larry Lightner had pleaded guilty to one count of felony theft, with five other counts dismissed as Judge Kristine DeMay sentenced Lightner under the following conditions:
• Lightner will be on supervised probation for five years and pay restitution of $20,928.09 along with a $75 criminal traffic surcharge and $10 library fee for a total of $21,013.09. In addition, he must serve 45 days in the Crow Wing County Jail beginning July 11 and will be eligible for work release and sentence to serve.
• Lightner must remain law-abiding and of good behavior with no similar offense of drug or alcohol abuse. He may not enter bars, liquor stores or other establishments that serve alcoholic beverages and will be subject to random testing. Lightner also may not be in the presence of drugs and may not possess firearms.
• He may have no contact with Pequot Lakes School buildings unless by phone or correspondence and may not hold a position allowing access to control of finances.
Lightner was charged last August with six counts of felony theft by check for stealing $34,000 from the teachers’ union, Education Minnesota Pequot Lakes. He had been writing checks to himself and cashing them since 2005 as co-treasurer of the teachers’ union.
According to court documents, Lightner said he took the money because he was living beyond his means and wanted to do more than his income would allow.
Lightner was a Pequot Lakes math teacher for 12 years and was Teacher of the Year in 2007. Students chose him to speak at their graduation ceremony in 2010.
Comments (15)
Add commentThe Unions Can Steal from others ... but Don't Steal from Unions
Seems like a double standard doesn't it?
$10 library fee is a probably more Union Dues?
I don't think I have ever heard of library fees in a criminal case.
Thought
I thought it had something to do with the law library.
Where is Denny when ya need a question answered...
that library fine
my answer is boring but is in this library pdf about their fines:
http://www.krls.org/about_krls/docs/krls_docs_Overdues-Replacement_Polic...
Why it would turn up in a criminal court case is another matter!
And I shake my head yet again at names predicting people's professions or fates. This one's perfect for a math teacher turned thief, as in: 'lightener', in this case, of other people's money. Teacher of the year? Not quite.
duplicate
duplicate: mistake, sorry
So if his crime was theft,
So if his crime was theft, why the restriction on drugs, alcohol and firearms? Was he ever charged with anything regarding use of drugs or a DWI or something like that? I'm not sure I see the correlation there. He's going to be on probation for the crime of theft, so he's not allowed to go to Applebee's and have dinner because they serve alcohol? And he can't go hunting because he wrote himself checks?
I'm not saying that what he did was right, but I wonder why the probation covers things that have no part of the crime he committed. Or perhaps I missed something where he was charged with being a violent, addicted alcoholic who wrote himself checks while he held himself at gunpoint?
I think Crow Wing County must just add that on there so they can make money from making him pay for UA's and they have a better chance of picking him up on a probation violation so they can charge him $25 a day in jail.
okeydokey ... maybe because
okeydokey ... maybe because he is being punished ....
OkeyDokey
because the law thinks that everyone that does any sort of crime is an alcoholic addicted to drugs and killing puppies. Explain to me how my ex girlfriend got a DWI, but still can be in bars drinking? just can't drink and drive. But this guy is charged with theft, but can't even go to Applebees like someone else mentioned and have dinner because he would be in the presence of alcohol? We have a great court system!
He has been charged with I
He has been charged with I believe it is 2 previous DWI's. Also, this must have broken his probation that he was previously on?
So how does this work... you steal 20,000 dollars and get sentenced to sit 45 days which will turn to 25, then get out and live a normal lifestyle. The sad thing is, this guy was a very nice and helpful teacher. Just another one of those types "Do what I say not as I do". I feel there are quite a few teachers out there like that who educate our kids this way.
The real crime is in the teachers union for the constant pay raises when everyone else is taking a cut or being released, that's a whole different topic.
For reasons unknown,
someone calling himself "JohnnyJing" chose to foul the airwaves by claiming that "The Unions Can Steal from others".
Congratulations! You win the award for "Garbage Comment of the Week".
More importantly...
Since when is it "justice" when a thief steals $34,000 from Minnesota school teachers and then waltzes out of the courthouse with only a single count of felony theft (with five other felony counts simply dismissed), a few years of probation, the automatic order to pay restitution, a $75 criminal traffic surcharge, a $10 library fee and 45 days in the Crow Wing County Jail (with work release)?
Are all the prisons full?
Stealing is taking money or other property against your will
I have talked with many teachers who hate the union but are forced to be part of it because of their jobs. The union takes their union dues and uses it on liberal candidates who they work against and oppose. That is stealing in my book. Why does the union only support liberal candidates and not others that many members support? That is why Scott Walker won, because people are tired of being shaken down against their will.
Little did the Scott Walker
Little did the Scott Walker voters know but the people who are REALLY going to shake us down for our last nickle are in the background pulling Walker's strings like a puppeteer.
Just wait until after they buy the next round of elections and we'll all know what it's like to have our money stolen right before our eyes.
Until that happens they'll keep our attention diverted with Voter ID and gay marriage nonsense.
Okeydokey
Felons can't posses firearms ever. fishhead, you are on the wrong story.