SPRINGFIELD — Police arrested former Springfield City Clerk Anne Andrews on felony charges of fraudulent use of a credit card and grand theft Thursday afternoon.
According to police reports, Andrews, while employed by the city, made multiple personal purchases with a city-issued credit card without the consent or permission of the city. During the course of a financial audit, officials allegedly discovered Andrews made purchases totaling $1,456.59 from T-Mobile, Hammacher Schlemmer, Sears.com and Knology between the months of January and March 2012.
Police said, as city clerk, Andrews was the sole receiver of all bills for the city, made monthly payments and any fraudulent use or discrepancies of the city credit cards would have been detected only by Andrews.
Andrews was fired July 11 on the grounds of misusing a city-issued credit card and falsifying documents.
Former code enforcement officer Lee Penton replaced Andrews as city clerk as the Springfield Police Department conducted an investigation.
Mayor Ralph Hammond released a statement Thursday in which he touted the arrest as fulfillment of a campaign promise for “transparency in this government.”
“Since my term began, we have discovered bills unpaid; bills paid late, checks signed but never sent, and several unauthorized credit card purchases by Mrs. Anne Andrews … that appear to be for her personal benefit,” Hammond wrote. “Obviously, this does not help the financial health of the city; however, I can assure you all necessary steps are being taken to address these issues and I promise to continue to keep our citizens informed.”
Police claimed Andrews’ actions were willful, with the intent to defraud the city by making purchases of $100 or more and doing so more than two times within six months.
Andrews was released on bond in the amount of $3,000 at about 4 p.m. Thursday, according to her legal counsel Waylon Graham. Andrews deferred any questions to Graham, who, as of Thursday evening, said he did not know enough about the case to comment.
Hammond said Andrews performed the duties of finance director, city clerk and human resources director for about five years before being fired in July. Her salary was $40,000 a year at the time, according to Hammond.