A 61-year-old Kentville man has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for stealing almost $60,000 from the service club where he volunteered as treasurer.
Ralph Foster Wood will serve his sentence on weekends, Kentville provincial court Judge Chris Manning said Tuesday. He will be on probation for 18 months.
Wood was charged by Kentville Police in late 2017 after members of the I.O.O.F. Hiawatha Lodge in the town reported that money was missing from their accounts, Manning heard at Wood’s sentencing hearing in September.
The organization had money in the bank from fundraisers and the sale of a building. Between February 2016 and September 2017, Wood wrote 52 cheques to himself totalling $58,200.
Wood admitted to the theft when police interviewed him.
Crown attorney Dan Rideout had asked for a sentence of 10 months in jail, because there was what he called an element of planning and manipulation in the case, and that there were no medical or addiction issues or serious financial pressures on Wood.
Defence lawyer Ken Greer had asked for a sentence of two to three years of probation and community service. He said a car crash at the age of 19 left Wood with a brain injury that prevented him from being gainfully employed. He said Wood did earn some money over the years.
Greer said Wood lived in his family home, which had equity, but he depleted his savings and couldn’t meet his day-to-day expenses.
