HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 12-29 Ex-Maplewood mayor Diana Longrie cited in city hall theft PIONEER PRESS 12/30/2015 Ex-Maplewood mayor Diana Longrie cited in city hall theft-TwinCities.com
Ex-Maplewood mayor Diana Longrie cited in city hall theft
Updated:12/29/2015 09:05:15 PM CST Twin Cit ie s.co m
A former mayor of Maplewood has been cited for theft after she allegedly took a public copy of the city's 300-plus page budget booklet from
Maplewood City Hall.
Diana Longrie was cited last week with one count of misdemeanor theft for her actions,which also allegedly included removing a public copy of
a city council meeting agenda packet, according to Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell.
Both items were encased in three-ring binders labeled "Public copy, please do not remove."
While much of the information contained in the binders is available free via the city's website, hard copies of the material cost residents about
$100, Schnell said.
Longrie, a lawyer, said that she did not steal either item from Maplewood City Hall and that she was unaware she had been cited.
"I just got back in town. ... I haven't seen anything," Longrie said Monday evening, adding "I didn't take anything."
Longrie served a contentious term as mayor of Maplewood from 2005 to 2009 that was dotted with lawsuits and the terminations of several city
staff inembers. She ran for the post again in 2013 but was defeated by incumbent mayor Nora Slawik.
Police say Longrie took the materials on Dec. 14, after a Maplewood City Council meeting. Karen Haag, director of citizen services for
Maplewood,said the city's budget book was missing after it was published last year as well.
"I was watching to make sure it didn't happen again," Haag said. "But at the end of the meeting, it was gone.
After asking a few residents in attendance if they'd taken it, Haag said she mentioned the missing booklet to Schnell. He suggested that she
review security tape footage of the meeting to determine what happened.
When she did, Haag said,the culprit was"obvious."
"The security camera cleariy shows(Diana Longrie)come into the meeting with what appears to be a single or two sheets of paper. ...When
she goes out, iYs very obvious that she has not only the packet book,which I think was about(200)pages or something like that, but also the
budget book as well," Haag said.
After reviewing the footage, Schnell contacted Longrie and asked that she retum the materials.When she declined and said "she didn't know
what(he)was talking about," Longrie was cited with theft, Schnell said. He added that the citation was delivered by U.S. mail as well as
electronically on Dec.23.
"If anybody were to come in and ask for hard copies of those items... it would cost well over$100 ... so they do have real value," Schnell said.
"This stuff belongs to the public and it was produced in a format that has real value,and as such (the citation)is appropriate.
The letter Schnell sent to Longrie informing her of the citation suggests she could have avoided charges.
"As I mentioned to you on the phone last week, enforcement action is the option of last resort.Your desire to select criminal action is confusing
but certainly within your rights,"the letter said.
Longrie,who acknowledged visiting Maplewood City Hall on Dec. 14 for city meetings, said she didn't know why she was being accused of a
crime she didn't commit.
"I have no idea. Maybe iYs political retaliation,for all I know," Longrie said. "I have been a vocal advocate talking about what we can do better
for the city and at city hall; sometimes people don't like that."
She added that she's been particulariy vocal about the city's recent decision to pull out of the Ramsey-Washington Suburban Cable
Commission, a move she said would limit Maplewood's access to public-access channels and programming, including her locally produced
show, "Off the Record News."
"I have been very vocal about that, and perhaps they are unhappy with it," Longrie said.
Sarah Homer can be reached at 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/homsarah.
http://www.iwi ncities.com/localnews/ci_29321732/ex-mapl ewooc�mayor-diana-longrie-cited-city-hall