My latest favorite “dishonest official gets caught buying crappy collectibles” story:
An obsessed Elvis Presley fan who stole nearly £600,000 of council car parking payments to buy one of the largest collections of the singer’s memorabilia will have her hoard confiscated and auctioned.
For nine years Julie Wall, a town hall cashier, amassed rare records, CDs and DVDs of the singer after stealing four tonnes of coins from cash boxes.
The 46-year-old spinster stole £597,963 from her employer, North Kesteven District Council, and then trawled auctions, record fairs and eBay to find scarce examples of Elvis’s music and signed mementoes.
Wall, who became infatuated with the singer when she was 12, was jailed for three years for theft in October last year.
Judge William Harbage, QC, the recorder, ordered yesterday that the collection should be auctioned to repay the council.
Some beancounter obviously wasn’t doing their job — as she walked off with about $1 million. Another good reason for automatic audits?
The sad part is that the lady couldn’t have been too bright (obsessed with ELVIS?) and still managed to walk off with a outhouse collection tray full of money. Her supervisors dropped the big ball on this one.