CLEARFIELD – A former Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre (CAST) board president and treasurer has pleaded guilty to stealing from the organization.
It was December when William John Grigsby, 28, was charged by Clearfield Borough police with two felony counts of theft by deception, 61 misdemeanor counts of other reason access device unauthorized by issuer and 61 counts of receiving stolen property for using a debit card and credit card belonging to the CAST.
On Tuesday he pleaded guilty before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to two counts of theft by deception, F3. He was sentenced to 30 days to one year in jail plus one year probation. As part of his plea agreement, he paid $4,600 in restitution prior to sentencing.
If he had not paid this amount, he would have been required to serve a minimum of 90 days in jail.
Shawn K. Inlow, who represented CAST, addressed the court, giving credit to Grigsby for helping the group get “back on our feet” after some financial problems.
“We like him,” Inlow said. “We care about him.” But he was quick to say that they did not want this to be an expungeable offense because they were concerned Grigsby could steal from other non-profit associations. He suggested that Grigsby may have done this before to another group.
As Grigsby apologized, Ammerman asked him to turn around and apologize to Inlow, which Grigsby did. Ammerman then commented that Inlow was “good-hearted” and said he didn’t know if he was in the same situation that he’d still care about Grigsby.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Grigsby used funds from two different CAST accounts for his personal benefit beginning on Jan. 25, 2016 and ending Aug. 30.
He withdrew a total of $2,244.90 from the building fund for his personal use. He also used CAST’s Visa card making withdrawals totaling $2,293.74. He then used funds from another CAST checking account to pay on the credit card bills.
The charges were discovered in September after CAST’s reorganization meeting when a new treasurer was appointed. CAST held an executive committee meeting prior to the regular meeting Oct. 12 to investigate the charges.
During this meeting, Grigsby made no admissions. But after the regular board meeting, Grigsby sent a text to the executive committee admitting he had been stealing funds. He then resigned.
The text message read, “Those charges are mine and I am truly sorry that it happened. I will pay this back and I hope that I don’t have to go to jail but will tender my registration.”
In October, Steve Albert, the new board president, released a statement regarding CAST’s status. “Despite this unfortunate event, CAST is in a positive financial position. We look forward to continued growth and success by providing high-quality arts opportunities to our community.”
According to a previous article, CAST was in a bad position in September of 2015 with a debt of $18,000. The group also needed $2,000 to prevent the sale of their buildings. At this time, a membership meeting was held and a new board was chosen.
This resurgence rekindled local interest in the organization and helped them pay off their bills. Grigsby was often credited as being an important part of that movement.