LONG BEACH - A former clerk who handled cash transactions for the City of Long Beach Animal Care Services Bureau has been charged with multiple felony counts for allegedly misappropriating more than $250,000 in public funds, the district attorney's office announced last week.Mutrais is accused of embezzling $251,000 over an 11-month period between Oct. 1, 2009, and Sept. 1, 2010. The theft came to light in August 2010 after the Animal Care Services Bureau implemented a comprehensive computer system to track funds. Deputy District Attorney Dana Aratani of the Public Integrity Division said that estimates reveal that, in total - over the course of more than 10 years of employment with the bureau - Mutrais had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to the $251,000. Mutrais resigned in August 2010. The Animal Care Services Bureau is responsible for kennel operations, dog licensing, adoption and general animal control. If convicted as charged, she faces up to nine years in state prison.

********** Published: May 17, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 05