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The sentence for Rich Calcut drew criticism from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which prosecuted the case and asked for a two-year prison term.
“We are very disappointed with the sentencing in this case,” said Bill Cosh, a department spokesman.
Calcut apologized in a Waupaca County courtroom for stealing donations meant to support veterans while he worked at the Wisconsin Veterans Home. His defense team asked the judge to spare Calcut any time behind bars.
Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge Mitchell Metropolis sentenced him to one year in jail with work-release privileges followed by four years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Calcut’s attorney, Erik Ellingson, praised the judge for imposing a thoughtful sentence “that accommodated all concerns.”
Calcut, who pleaded guilty in May to one county of felony theft by fraud, worked 23 years as the public information officer at the home in King, 110 miles north of Madison. The home, which houses more than 700 elderly veterans and their relatives, placed him on leave last year and he later resigned his state job.
Under terms of his sentence, Calcut will have to pay back the full amount he embezzled between 1999 and 2007. Calcut controlled the funds, which were meant to support recreational activities for the veterans and were funded by donors and veterans groups.
Calcut has already paid back $65,000 and accepted an offer from a buyer on his Waupaca house on Thursday morning before sentencing, Ellingson said. If that deal closes as expected on Oct. 1, Calcut will pay off the remainder at that point, he said.
Calcut, 53, will start serving his jail term within the next 30 days.
Calcut told the court the embezzlement began when he cashed one check and kept the money rather than give it back to the committee, Ellingson said. That was the beginning of years of theft and fraud, he said.
Calcut admitted that he took $201,000 from an account for a cabin at the home sponsored by AMVETS that he controlled between 1999 and 2005. He also acknowledged stealing an additional $62,000 between 2005 and 2007 from a nonprofit group created to support activities at the home.
To cover up his actions, Calcut said, he made the checks payable to a local bank and then recorded the spending as going for legitimate expenses. But he came under scrutiny last year after an internal review turned up discrepancies in the accounts.
A former home employee says she warned administrators as far back as 2004 that Calcut was misusing donations but they didn’t stop him. The home’s top administrator, Bill Crowley, testified last month he didn’t recall ever receiving such a warning.
Calcut apologized Thursday to his family, friends and the veterans of Wisconsin, Ellingson said.
