Ex-city worker to repay $15,000 in card misuse

A former city of Las Vegas employee who was accused of using a city credit card to buy movies, electronics and lingerie has agreed to pay $15,000 in restitution as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.

Autumn McKinney, who worked at the Stupak Community Center from 2002 to 2005, is also on supervised probation for five years, according to a city spokeswoman.

The restitution deal was reached Dec. 17 and closes a case that started early in 2005.

That's when a city employee reported finding a charge for one of the "Bridget Jones" movies on McKinney's "procurement card," or p-card.

It "raised a big red flag," according to court documents, because R-rated movies aren't supposed to be shown at the community center.

A review of her expenses found charges for many items investigators said weren't used for the community center, including cell phone cards, clothing, CD and DVD players, more R-rated movies, weight loss medications, manicure kits, lingerie, and large-denomination gift cards for Wal-Mart, Target, Starbuck's and Lowe's.

Center employees told investigators that none of the items listed in the expense reports showed up at the center. The employees also reported that McKinney frequently told them money wasn't available for center functions because of tight funding.

And the report noted that Stupak Community Center -- located on Boston Avenue in a rough neighborhood just west of the Stratosphere -- was in poor condition, furnished for the most part with donations and secondhand items.

Overall, McKinney was accused of stealing or misappropriating about $30,000 in city funds.

In addition to the p-card purchases, she was blamed for $6,996 in cash missing from the community center's safe.

Through her attorney, McKinney contested many of the allegations, admitting only to misusing her card for a few hundred dollars -- specifically, $264 for a pizza party at Peter Piper Pizza, and $538 at Vegas Trophies for the Hawks Mighty Mite football team.

McKinney even tried to withdraw her guilty plea at one point and sought a trial, but was denied.

Although the "Bridget Jones" purchase set off the investigation, McKinney's spending habits had attracted notice before.

One of her supervisors counseled her about overspending, according to court documents. And in March 2005, she was written up for not depositing fees paid in cash for a citizenship class at the center.

That supervisor, Elgin Williams, said he accepted McKinney's explanation: That she used the money for supplies. He also said he didn't know how long she hadn't been depositing the money, nor how much went uncounted.

Williams and another supervisor, Dean Mattson, acknowledged to investigators that they had approved McKinney's p-card charges without looking at what she bought.

The city did not respond to a request for comment on whether those individuals faced disciplinary action.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or (702) 229-6435.