MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Attorney General Luther Strange announced the sentencing of a former municipal court clerk for first-degree theft of funds from the Spanish Fort Municipal Court. Mary Luft was sentenced on Nov. 1 in Baldwin County Circuit Court to five years imprisonment, which was suspended and split for her to serve 120 days in jail and the balance on probation. Luft, 41, of Daphne, filed a notice of appeal and was released on a bond of $10,000 pending her appeal.

"The felony conviction and jail sentence in this case should send a warning to others who may be tempted to commit crimes such as this,” said Strange. “This defendant held a position of public trust in which her duty was to be a caretaker of municipal court funds. She betrayed that trust by stealing the people’s money. I am proud of the hard work and outstanding commitment by the staff of our Investigations Division and Public Corruption and White Collar Crime Division to deliver justice for the people of Alabama.”

Luft was convicted on Sept. 13 following a trial that began the day before in Baldwin County Circuit Court. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict.

As municipal court clerk, Luft was responsible for handling and processing all money that came through the municipal court of Spanish Fort. The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence that Luft skimmed and stole more than $58,000, which was nearly half of the money that came into the municipal court over a 14-month period spanning 2006 and 2007. At trial the Attorney General’s Office also presented an audit performed by the Alabama Department of Public Examiners, which uncovered the missing funds with a chargeback holding Luft responsible. Among the testimony and voluminous documents presented as evidence was the testimony of an Examiners’ auditor who detailed the scheme used by Luft to embezzle more than $58,000 of city and state funds. The money stolen belonged to the state as well as the city because a portion of the court fines are distributed to the State and counties.