Aurora woman to go to jail for thefts

For more than two years, Donna L. Johnson cooked the books while pilfering thousands of dollars from her employer to support a gambling habit and pay her credit cards.

The Aurora woman made off with $162,341.95 before the firm's checks began to bounce and the once-trusted accountant's theft scheme unraveled.

For her crime, DuPage Circuit Judge John Kinsella sentenced the 59-year-old woman Friday to serve 18 months in jail and four years' probation. The judge cited Johnson's age and lack of significant criminal history among his reasons to reject prosecutors' request for a seven-year prison term.

Johnson worked as an accountant for Bartel's Auto Clinic in Carol Stream and Bartel's Classic Fuel Mart near Wheaton. She was arrested Nov. 27, 2007, after a lengthy criminal investigation into the missing money. The probe began Oct. 23, 2006, when bank officials contacted her boss, Patrick Bartel, about the bounced checks.

Johnson pleaded guilty to felony theft May 29. Her prior criminal history included a 1991 drunken driving offense, but prosecutor Ken Tatarelis argued Johnson had committed a myriad of thefts against her employer during the more than two years she carried out the scheme.

"She did it on a daily basis," the prosecutor said. "She hasn't paid back a dime."

Though a white-collar crime, Tatarelis said Johnson left several victims in her wake. He said her former boss had difficulty paying employees, who did not receive raises and had their health-care costs increased.

Johnson, a married mother of two adult children, must turn herself in July 18 to the DuPage County jail to begin serving her sentence. She will be allowed to leave the jail during the last six months of her term during the day for work. Judge Kinsella also ordered her to pay full restitution to her former employer.