Worker who stole $90K from prosecutor’s office may avoid prison

Attorney for David Bruns says he made a ‘series of bad choices.’

A former Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office employee who pleaded guilty to stealing $89,976 from the county “made a series of bad choices which resulted in a situation that he could not overcome or correct,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed by his attorney Tuesday.

The memo says David Bruns reported the theft, dating back to December 2011, to his supervisor “in the summer of 2016.” Bruns worked in the delinquent tax unit.

He was fired Aug. 22 and Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck — whose cousin is Bruns’ wife Julie, who is head of Heck’s juvenile division — filed a request to have Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien take over the case as special prosecutor on Aug. 30.

RELATED: Ex-worker in county prosecutor’s office pleads guilty to theft

Bruns’ sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 28. O’Brien has not filed a sentencing memo, but he previously said he is not recommending a prison sentence if Bruns pays back the money.

Bruns is charged with theft in office and tampering with records, which are both felonies.

RELATED: Allegedly stolen money should have funded foreclosures, tax collection

The judge in the case — Linton D. Lewis, a retired judge from Perry County — could still sentence Bruns to prison time.

The sentencing memo written by Bruns’ attorney, Charles Wagner, notes that Bruns is a husband and father; he was honorably discharged from the Ohio National Guard after serving six years; he has worked hard at several jobs, working for now-County Commissioner Dan Foley and Clerk of Courts Greg Brush; has volunteered with the special olympics and as a high school volleyball coach at Miamisburg High School.

“This writer has served as a criminal defense lawyer since 1976,” Wagner wrote. “Candidly, it is rare that I have found someone as contrite about his actions as I find David. He will continue to be a productive member of society when this incident is behind him.”

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