Boosters theft impacts elections board, too
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The director of the Washington County Board of Elections has been charged with stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Marietta Tigers Booster Club, where she served as treasurer.
Tara Hupp, 53, of 5250 State Route 26, Marietta resigned from the board of elections Thursday after she was charged with theft, a fourth-degree felony.
Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said it's believed Hupp stole about $40,000 from the boosters by making checks out to cash throughout 2016, although currently they are only sure about her receiving $30,000.
"There are $40,000 in checks we are looking at; however, we're not sure she got all of that," said Mincks. "We conducted an investigation and found that Tara Hupp was involved and that she had taken the money; she admitted it and was charged with the offense."
Mincks said the Washington County Sheriff's Office began investigating after being informed by the Marietta Tigers Booster Club on Wednesday morning. By the evening, they felt they had enough information to interview Hupp.
"We went out and talked to her and she came on her own to our office voluntarily," noted Mincks. "She wrote checks to cash, took them to the bank, cashed the checks and kept the money; she said she used them to pay her personal bills."
Mincks said that while Hupp has been charged, she has not yet been arrested and processed into the Washington County Jail.
Marietta City Schools Superintendent Will Hampton said the incident was a real blow to the Marietta Tigers athletics.
"This is going to be felt throughout the entire athletic department; we are all going to feel this," he said. "You never expect this to happen…you hear about it, you read about it, but you never expect this to happen; this is awful, this is terrible for the program, the kids and their families."
Hampton said they hope there will be restitution involved, but since it is still early in the process, they haven't had a chance to gather ideas to recover funds in the meantime.
"There is a temporary treasurer in place to get us through this transition; this is still very new," he said Thursday. "I learned of what happened last night and I'm sure there is more information to follow; it's going to take time to work through and the second steps are still to come."
On Thursday afternoon, the Washington County Board of Elections held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. Hupp had been asked not to attend work on Thursday by Chair Dennis Sipe.
Sipe said he had had a short conversation with Hupp Wednesday night and had advised her to email her resignation to the board, which she did.
Sipe said the board also immediately contacted the Washington County Auditor's Office to see if their finances were in order, which they were.
"But in an abundance of caution, the auditor and I both agreed we should make sure at least the state auditor was contacted to see whether or not a review or investigation was warranted here," said Sipe, noting during the meeting that they agreed to an audit in January.
"Needless to say, we are also conducting an election, so we have always anticipated the possibility that we could have illness among the deputy director and clerks," he said. "We have always made provisions for extra people during the early voting and election procedures so our early voting is going forward without difficulty."
At the meeting, the board discussed the situation and Hupp's emailed resignation with the public and went into executive session. Afterward, board members Glenn Ray, Charlie Wentz, Jim Huggins and Sipe approved Hupp's resignation request and appointed Mandy Amos as interim director of the Washington County Board of Elections.
Amos has been a clerk at the Washington County Board of Elections.
They also approving changing the locks and deactivating the pass code of the former director and approved the payment of Amos.
"She will be paid that allotment we have budgeted for the director position," said Sipe.
Hupp made $50,000 a year in the position, which she held since November of 2006. She was the treasurer of the Marietta Tigers Booster Club for 10 to 12 years.
Poll workers who attended Thursday's meeting said they were surprised by what had happened and came to see what the next step was.
"We worked with Tara a long time and really liked her," said Sandy Grady, 69, of Marietta. "You just don't know why people do what they do."
Hupp did not return a call for comment. A court date has not been set for her.
At a glance
¯Tara Hupp, 53, of 5250 State Route 26, Marietta, has been charged with theft, a fourth-degree felony.
¯ Hupp, treasurer of the Marietta Tigers Booster Club and Washington County Board of Elections director, allegedly wrote boosters checks made out to cash throughout 2016.
¯The Washington County Sheriff's Office is investigating checks totaling up to $40,000. However, right now they are only sure of receiving approximately $30,000.
¯ Hupp resigned from the board of elections Thursday.
¯Mandy Amos was sworn is as interim director of the Washington County Board of Elections.
Source: Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Washington County Board of Elections.