Court officials are jittery, and on Monday said that “legal and ethical reasons” prevented them from discussing the matter. However, the only thing they could say was “independent outside professionals, including a forensic accountant,” has been hired to probe the matter. A court statement released on Monday mentioned, “Although the internal investigation regarding the misuse of funds is essentially completed, the court continues its efforts to revise and strengthen internal controls, policies, and procedures.”
In the last 18 months of her service, Teresa York approved eight consecutive months of invoices for “wellness education/massages” totaling $1980. But, that's only a glimpse. The records of her court-supplied credit cards show a pattern that is out of the ordinary. Over 18 months she used her court-provided credit cards to buy more than $25,000 in gift cards. She purchased the gift cards from small pharmacies and office supply stores, and spread out the purchases throughout the metropolitan area. Though the court has postage meters, York routinely charged purchases at a post office about a mile and a half from her home.
The records also show that she spent thousands of dollars of public money on meals at area restaurants. Purchases at women's clothing stores, shoe stores were all done with public money. At the time when York came under suspicion, she spent more than $1000 on two spa visits at a Nevada casino while attending a professional conference. She also purchased thousands of dollars worth computer and electronic equipment. However, some of the equipment was distributed to judges, as some of her meals at restaurants were annotated as business meetings. The records also show that some of her gift card purchases were intended to be used as incentives or bonuses for court employees.
Presiding Judge Charles Atwell said he and the other judges on the bench felt let down with York's behavior. In a written statement, Atwell said, “The court depended upon Teresa York for many years to manage court functions and funds professionally and ethically, and we have been taken aback in the past few weeks ….”
