Former Monroe County Auditor Bonds Out Of Jail

Last updated on Thursday, May 16, 2013

(BLOOMINGTON) - Former Monroe County Auditor Amy Gerstman spent Monday night in the Monroe County Jail, then bonded out Tuesday after Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd lowered her bond.

Special Prosecutor Barry Brown alleges 43-year-old Gerstman made personal purchases on her county-issued Visa credit card. She is accused of charging more than $11,101 in personal expenses, from clothing to private school tuition for her children.

Special prosecutor Barry Brown charged 43-year-old Gerstman with seven felonies: six counts of theft and one count of official misconduct.

The allegations:

That on Oct. 16, 2010, she spent $98.38 at CATO women's clothing store.

That on Nov. 22, 2010, she purchased a Delta Air ticket for personal travel to Key West, Fla., for $532.80.

That on Nov. 23, 2010, she paid $384.24 to Expedia for hotel accommodations in Key West.

That on Jan. 7, 2011, she charged her $25 Indiana University Alumni Association membership dues to the county.

That on Aug. 14, 2011, she paid her children's $1,800 Harmony School tuition through PayPal.

That on Jan. 26, 2011, she submitted a claim for $2,592.75: $1,097.75 to Expedia for airfare and three nights at the Residence Inn by Marriott in Times Square in addition to $1,495 to Cornell University in New York City for a communications seminar she never attended.

The final count alleges she is guilty of official misconduct because the thefts happened while she was performing her duties as the elected auditor.

A State Board of Accounts audit released in June 2012 revealed the financial irregularities.

Gerstman was elected in November 2008 on a campaign to professionalize the auditor's office and served her entire 4-year term despite the cloud of financial troubles that hung over the office the final year.

Judge Todd amended Gerstman's initial bond -- $2,000 surety and $3,000 cash -- which would have required her to post $3,200 to get out of jail. Todd changed it to $5,000 surety, and Gerstman paid the required 10 percent, or $500.

Her next hearing is a pre-trial conference set for July 2.

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