7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Elected Official Arrest Among 2009's Top Local Stories
An elected official arrested was one of our top local stories of 2009 -- this one, though, was a local elected official.

One of the top stories of the year occurred late into the year. Knox County Recorder Paula Monzo was arrested in November, and faces felony charges of Theft Over $300.

Monzo, while treasurer of the Knox County Democratic Party, allegedly stole $3,500 from what party chair Norm Winick said was an otherwise low-activity checking account, and was first alerted to the suspected thefts by the bank.

Winick told WGIL in November he didn't initially believe someone like the party's treasurer could be capable of stealing from the party.

"I, originally, thought maybe we were the victim of identity theft, or somebody was trying to hack into (the account) electronically," Winick said. "So I went over to the bank and they pulled copies of checks and statements, and we discovered some things that were inappropriate."

Monzo was ousted as party treasurer and has since been replaced in that role by Lisa England of Gilson.

Monzo remains in office as recorder, and has so far made no public statement. Police reports indicated she confessed to taking money but didn't know how much, and also reportedly told investigators she had a cocaine habit and had trouble paying bills.

She'll be in court January 26th for a preliminary hearing.


(Paula Monzo)
01 06 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.