An Ansonia woman received probation Wednesday for stealing more than $20,000 from the parent-teacher organization at Ansonia’s Prendergast Elementary School.
Kelly Kahyaoglu, 49, had pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny in the case in April, and faced up to three years behind bars, in accordance with a plea deal. She had paid back the $21,676 she stole. The judge gave her a three-year suspended sentence, meaning she could face jail if she gets in trouble while on probation.
Once the president of the Prendergast School’s PTO, Kahyaoglu was arrested in June 2013 after a 17-month investigation into missing money by Ansonia detectives.
Authorities allege Kahyaoglu took advantage of the PTO’s complete lack of financial controls and stole the money for her personal use. She purchased everything from clothes from Lane Bryant to pool supplies, according to an arrest warrant.
She also took out about $9,000 in cash using the PTO’s debit card, racking up $150 in ATM fees, police alleged.
At Kahyaoglu’s sentencing Wednesday, the prosecutor read a letter from the current president of the PTO, Lori Shortell, detailing the the mess Kahyaoglu had left behind.
At one point, the state revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status, Shortell wrote.
Volunteers worked for months to right the ship, Shortell wrote. Since the theft was discovered, the PTO has raised about $60,000 and is once again on a solid financial footing.
“The fact that she gave up her time does not make up for the fact that she stole from innocent children for her own family’s gain,” Shortell’s letter said.
Given the opportunity to speak by Judge Iannotti, Kahyaoglu declined.
Her lawyer, public defender David Egan, tried to withdraw the guilty plea and apply for accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation that would result in the charges being dismissed.
But since prosecutor Amy Bepko opposed Egan’s motion, the AR application failed.
“She stole. She’s a thief,” Bepko said in court Wednesday. “The record should reflect that.”
Even so, Bepko asked Judge Frank Iannotti to hand down a suspended sentence in the case, because Kahyaoglu had no prior criminal record and came up with full restitution, to the tune of $21,676.
Bepko also said that she appreciated Kahyaoglu confessing her crime to police, telling detectives she stole the money because her husband had lost his job.
But the prosecutor pointed out that many families in Ansonia are in the same situation.
“They could’ve benefited from this money,” Bepko said. “The defendant thought she was superior above all else and took for herself and for her family.”
Bepko pointed out that Kahyaoglu wasn’t buying bare necessities like bread and milk with the purloined funds.
“What she did is went out and bought pool supplies and things like that that were not necessities but luxuries,” Bepko said. “The state finds offensive that she could use her position in the PTA to take the money of many children and put herself above others.”
Egan said that while he didn’t necessarily agree that Kahyaoglu stole all $21,676 she was charged with stealing — the PTO’s shoddy accounting procedures under Kahyaoglu’s watch prevented an exact accounting, he said — he said his client accepted she did wrong and paid back the money.
Judge Iannotti said he would “go along” with a three-year suspended sentence in the case because Bepko was not opposed to it, and because Kahyaoglu has made full restitution and didn’t have prior convictions.
But he also ordered her not to have any jobs or do any volunteer work that would put her in a position controlling other people’s money while she is on probation for the next three years.
