SPANISH FORT, Alabama – State and county agencies seeking more than $20,000 stolen by a former municipal court clerk will receive their checks soon, after the City Council on Monday authorized Mayor Joe Bonner to make payment. Former clerk Mary 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 finding Luft guilty of stealing $58,830 over a 14-month period spanning 2006-2007. Luft, 41, of Daphne, filed a notice of appeal and was released on a bond of $10,000 pending her appeal.

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, according to a press release by Attorney General Luther Strange. A separate audit performed by the city found an additional $5,886.40 missing, money the city “will have to eat,” according to Bonner.

“What we tried to do was paint as clear a picture as we could and then set down with a judge who took it to court and asked for restitution,” Bonner said. “It’s not just us, but there are people out there that are owed money and it’s time to wipe the slate clean.”

As of Monday, the city wasn’t sure if the losses would be covered by a “dishonest employee” clause in its insurance policy.

Included in the theft was: $11,007.40 from the Alabama State Finance Department, Comptroller’s Office; $4,539 from the Baldwin County Correction Fund; $1,244 from the Baldwin County Juvenile Detention Facility Fund; $1,235 from the Baldwin County District Attorney; $747 from the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund; $676 from the Alabama Peace Officers Annuity and Benefit Fund and $278 from the Baldwin County Treasury.

The city believes more than $40,000 was stolen from its own coffers, including fines from more than 170 tickets.