A former City of Milwaukee employee was handed a prison sentence of more than a year for her part in an embezzlement scandal that rocked the city's Department of Public Works. Kelly Whitmore-Behling, aged 47, will now face 12 months and a day behind bars plus three years of supervised release, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Charged alongside a co-defendant, Whitmore-Behling was involved in skimming the proceeds of sold city vehicles and equipment between June and September of 2022. The pair seemed to have meticulously devised a scheme to sell off city assets, only to pocket most of the cash for themselves, effectively defrauding the city of more than $350,000. Court documents disclosed by the U.S. Attorney's Office point out that Whitmore-Behling also had a penchant for gambling, revealed by her extensive casino visits during the time of the fraud.
The scam unraveled as the Department of Public Works carried out an equipment audit after suspending the co-defendants. This led to the stark revelation of the scale of the misconduct. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office website, "Her conduct caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of loss and risked undermining public faith in city government."
This case did not solely revolve around monetary loss; it resonated deeply with a lingering sentiment. "Ms. Whitmore-Behling was a public employee who cheated not only her employer but the citizens of Milwaukee by embezzling city funds to further her own greed," said FBI Milwaukee Field Office's Michael E. Hensle, signaling the betrayal felt by an entire community, as mentioned by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The FBI and the Milwaukee Police Department jointly spearheaded the investigation which led to the unearthing and subsequent prosecution of this breach of trust.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Taibleson took the lead in prosecuting this case. With Whitmore-Behling's sentencing, Milwaukee's officials are likely hoping to slowly rebuild the public trust that has been so profoundly shaken by this incident.
