Long ordered to serve jail time, By LAUREL BEAGER, Editor

MacDougall sentenced to eight years in prison

Two Koochiching County residents with high profile criminal cases were sentenced in District Court Monday.

Brenda Long, 42, International Falls, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for felony check forgery with the intention to defraud. Execution of the sentence was stayed and she was ordered to serve one year in the county jail.

The former administrative secretary of the Koochiching Economic Development Authority has admitted to forging the signatures of KEDA officers on checks payable to herself and depositing the money in her personal checking account.

She was ordered to pay full restitution as determined by the court and probation officers. A restitution hearing may be scheduled to determine the amount. She will serve 10 years supervised probation after serving the jail time, and was ordered to write a letter of apology to the KEDA.

She pled guilty to the charge Aug. 6.

The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board has said it will seek $341,742 in restitution from Long. A state auditor's report provided to the KEDA in August that details how much money Long took from the agency.

The report stated that from 2002 to April 16 of this year, $341,742 was taken from the KEDA's account, including $27,000 from the Koochco account, which is administered by the KEDA, and placed in Long's accounts or cashed by Long.

KEDA Attorney Joe Boyle told the board in August that much of the KEDA's loss should be covered by $300,000 in employee theft coverage by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. And, he noted, the KEDA's liability coverage should pay for much of the Koochco loss.

However, he said, a gap of uncovered liability of about $14,000 remains and will be sought in restitution from Long. The League, he said, requested the KEDA file for judgment of the full $341,742 from Long.

MacDougall

Donald E. MacDougall, 73, International Falls, was sentenced to serve a total of 98 months, or 8 years, in prison on two counts of felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He pled guilty in July to the charges. The charges, one of which was upped from second-degree, stem from inappropriate contact with minors in 1998 and 2000 at a day care program operated at his rural International Falls residence.

He will be placed on five years conditional release upon completion of his prison sentence.