ROTTERDAM Softball league vows to play on after money loss BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
The Rotterdam Girls Softball League will take to the diamond this spring even if their equipment looks a bit old and tattered. League President Jackie O’Brien said the league is just barely scraping by after its treasury was liquidated last year. Rae Lynch, 43, of Guilderland, stands accused of stealing more than $8,800 from the league when she served as treasurer. Albany County prosecutors are pursuing a grand larceny charge against Lynch, who could end up owing restitution to the league if she’s found guilty. But while the case works its way through the court system, league officials are hoping to raise a bit of extra cash they would ordinarily use to buy equipment for the girls or help out families that cannot afford the annual dues. “We have managed to pay off all of our bills and all of our creditors, but usually we have some slush money leftover,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “Instead, she ripped off everything we had and we’re really in the hole for the first time.” The league and one of its sponsors will host a fundraiser at the Schenectady Municipal Golf Course on March 13 in hopes of replacing some of the lost funds. The event will feature a silent auction and concessions that would normally be sold at the ballpark. Many people in Rotterdam are donating and volunteering their services, said Kristin Kralovic, a coach and former player in the league. “It is going to be a great community effort.” Authorities said Lynch, who had overseen the organization’s finances for two years, allegedly made checks payable to cash that she then used to purchase personal items, pay her mortgage and cover veterinarian bills. The league’s new treasurer discovered the funds were missing when Lynch allegedly used a league check to pay her county property taxes. “It’s just an unfortunate chain of events,” O’Brien said. “Who would think people would steal from kids?” O’Brien said a number of families, businesses and organizations donated money to the league to help it avoid creditors over the winter. The Brunswick Girls Softball League in Rensselaer County even chipped in when one creditor threatened to send a bill to a collections agency. “They’ve kind of rallied around us,” O’Brien said. Registration fees collected this winter were enough to bring the league’s accounts out of the red. However, the league’s treasury is still basically empty. Still, O’Brien said the league will ensure that all girls who want to play softball this season will get.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01201
ROTTERDAM League theft draws jail time BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Rae Ann Lynch was sent to jail for 60 days and will have to make a public apology for stealing $8,800 from the Rotterdam Girls’ Softball League in 2008. The league’s former treasurer also will need to pay full restitution and have to serve 75 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor larceny charge, according to information provided by the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. Lynch, 43, of Guilderland, began serving her sentence Monday, effectively closing the chapter on the theft that nearly forced the league into insolvency. “I’m glad she’s finally going to pay for what she did,” said league President Jackie O’Brien. O’Brien said the conviction means the league will be able to recoup its losses through insurance. And the money will come in handy, given all of the costcutting measures they took in the wake of the theft. “Last year, we decided that even if we had to cut back drastically on things, we were still going to let the kids play,” she said Thursday. The league was founded in 1976 and has since grown to include more than 300 girls between the ages of 6 and 16. The theft of the money came to light in November 2008 when O’Brien began to notice that the league’s bills weren’t being paid on time. Then, after the league’s treasurer-elect began reviewing the books kept by Lynch, she found a number of discrepancies. More specifically, the league found a check Lynch wrote to pay for her county property taxes. The new treasurer contacted the Albany County Department of Finance, which then notified the sheriff’s office. Authorities said Lynch, who had overseen the organization’s finances for two years, wrote checks payable to cash that she then used to purchase personal items, pay her mortgage and cover veterinarian bills. O’Brien said Lynch told investigators she intially used the money when she was in a financial pinch but later found herself dipping back in for less essential reasons. For example, she bought flowers and supplies to build a fence in her backyard, officials said. .............>>>>................>>>>...................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01104&AppName=1
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