Ex-employee accused of stealing from Oak Brook Park District

A former Oak Brook Park District employee has been charged with stealing nearly $30,000 from the park district's foundation, officials said Tuesday.

Mary Tansey, 37, of Clarendon Hills, turned herself in to the Oak Brook Police Department Tuesday on misdemeanor charges of theft, according to a joint news release of the park district and its foundation.

Tansey, a 22-year employee of the park district, helped with fundraising for the foundation, a separate nonprofit organization.

Foundation officials discovered in March that $29,269.70 was missing from the foundation's account, and Oak Brook police later tracked unauthorized personal purchases and cash withdrawals made by Tansey, who was using a foundation debit card, the release stated.

Oak Brook Police Sgt. Ben Kadolph said the unauthorized purchases and withdrawals took place between April 2014 and January 2016.

Tansey resigned in February in lieu of termination, when park district officials discovered another employee used her access card. That employee, Clint Lauderdale, used the card to enter district property and remove a total of $100 from vending machines, police and park district officials said.

Lauderdale, 45, of Arlington Heights, faces misdemeanor charges of trespassing and theft, and there is currently a warrant out for his arrest, Kadolph said.

Because the stolen funds were insured, the money was immediately restored to the foundation's account by Fifth Third Bank.

Foundation officials say they have since reviewed and modified their accounting and cash handling procedures.