Marathon County couple plead not guilty to using town funds to pay fine for past conviction
WAUSAU − A Marathon County couple, both of whom are facing felony charges as former town officials, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Michael J. Gebert, 64, and Mary Beth Gebert, 68, both of the Marathon County town of Bergen, are each facing a felony charge of misconduct in office. The two had a joint arraignment Thursday in front of Marathon County Circuit Judge Suzanne O'Neill. Both are scheduled for next appearances on May 22.
According to the criminal complaint, a check was written on a town of Bergen account on Feb. 13, 2023, to the Department of Corrections for $1,788.
On May 12, 2023, Bergen Chairman Edwin Rucinski talked to a Marathon County deputy about finding the Feb. 13, 2023, check during the course of his duties, according to the complaint. The check was signed by Michael Gebert, who was the previous town chairman, a town supervisor and the town treasurer.
The deputy talked to the supervisor whose signature was on the check. He said he did not typically sign checks for the town, but was given the responsibility of signing them the last few months of his term after Mary Gebert was convicted of destroying a poll list. The supervisor said he did not remember signing the $1,788 check. He said the town chairman and treasurer would have the checks ready for him at the town hall and he'd sign them, asking any questions he had about a particular check, but he couldn't remember the check written to the Department of Corrections.
Michael Gebert told the deputy the town's insurance company paid for his wife's legal expenses related to the first case filed against her. When the deputy asked about he check, Michael Gebert said he should talk to Mary Gebert, according to the complaint.
Mary Gebert said state statutes indicate the town pays for her responsibilities while she was clerk. She said the town attorney said the town would pay her fines and court costs, according to the complaint. Mary Gebert at first said she prepared the check, but she later said it was the treasurer who did it.
Michael Gebert said he had to get approval of the checks from the Town Board, according to the complaint.
The deputy spoke with the town's attorney, and he said it was the first time he had heard of a town using funds to pay post-conviction fees. He said he didn't believe the town should have paid the court fees because Mary Gebert had been found guilty of a crime. The attorney said he would not have advised the town to use town money to pay Mary Gebert's court costs.
Michael Gebert told the deputy he had told the board the check was for the Department of Corrections, and they were OK with it, according to the complaint. He said he used the town money to pay the court fees because Mary Gebert was an elected town official. The deputy showed Michael Gebert an invoice listing checks the Town Board approved in February and the check was not listed, according to the complaint.
The deputy talked with a member of the town's insurance company, and he said the company did not make any payments to the Department of Corrections between March 18, 2022, and April 14, 2023, in the amount of $1,788, according to the complaint.
If Michael and Mary Gebert are convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 3 ⅟₂ years.
Mary Gebert previously pleaded guilty to being an election official who destroyed a poll list. According to the complaint, Mary Gebert and two other poll workers couldn't make the numbers balance correctly on election night on Nov. 3, 2020, and chose a random name and signed the person's name in a poll book. O'Neill withheld a sentence during Mary Gebert's plea hearing Dec. 6, 2022, and placed her on two years of probation.. O'Neill also ordered her to pay $1,788.
Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Marathon County couple plead not guilty to misconduct in office charge
