FLORDELL HILLS, Mo. — Two former city clerks admitted to stealing nearly $650,000 from the small, struggling city of Flordell Hills.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Maureen Woodson, 68, pleaded guilty in front of the U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel to one count each of mail and wire fraud. In Woodson’s individual plea, she admitted to stealing more than $400,000.
In a second press release, Donna Thompson, 76, pleaded guilty to the same counts as Woodson. In Thompson's plea, she admitted to stealing just shy of $160,000.
Woodson admitted from February 2016 to April 2022, she and Thompson forged more than 600 checks to themselves without the permission of the mayor, treasurer or board of aldermen, according to the plea agreement.
In August, both women were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing close to $663,000 combined in city funds.
Woodson and Thompson cashed some checks and deposited others into their personal bank accounts, according to the plea.
They used the money for gambling, entertainment and personal expenses such as rent for their home in Florissant and federal taxes, according to the plea. The money was also used for their restaurant and store costs.
Flordell Hills is about six blocks square, has an annual budget of about $400,000, and a population of about 800, according to the release. About 53.9% of those residents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Jeffery Duke, the city’s attorney, said the theft included COVID-19 relief funds and “because COVID-19 caused the city to cancel its monthly meetings, it may have fostered the opportunity for mischief.”
Some city officials also went without pay because of the theft.
Mirion Rogers, who is a long-time resident of the town, said back in August she and other neighbors called on city officials to fix bad roads and put up lights for better safety for years. But she said they did not receive a response.
Woodson is scheduled to be sentenced May 16 in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Thompson is scheduled to be sentenced May 17.
Each charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Woodson will also be ordered to repay the money.
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