It has been a real sad state of affairs in the United States lately. I know theft has been a problem plaguing society since the beginning of time, probably, but it seems like theft from the poor has become rampant recently.

I know it didn’t start with Bernard Madoff stealing tens of millions of dollars from charities who invested in his Ponzi scheme, but every day it seems like I’m reading about someone else doing their best to defraud the government or their fellow citizens.

Robbing from the Poor!

Now comes the story out of Rutledge, Vermont where state employee Kathy Lantagne, stole almost half a million dollars. Ironically, her job is to help the poor, but she embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for welfare recipients who needed help to pay for food, housing, and funeral expenses.

The state expects the money to be repaid after she gets out of jail. A federal judge sentenced Lantagne yesterday to 33 months in prison and ordered her to pay restitution for the $490,471.00 she and her sister were convicted of pocketing. Prosecutors said she used her position as a supervisor to get the state to issue more than 250 checks that she and her sister cashed over a five-year period, keeping the proceeds.

These types of stories sadden me. Perhaps it would be a good idea for all state and federal employees to mandate a theft class prior to taking their position. People really have to understand that this type of behavior is completely uncivilized and will not be tolerated!