SPARTA, Wis. – The village clerk in rural Wilton, population 500, was charged with fraud involving credit cards over 1-1/2 year on the job. The criminal complaint against Leigha Barton, age 40, doesn’t list the sums, but an indicator of the scope is that each of nine counts is punishable by three years in prison and fines $4,000 to $10,000. Monroe County prosecutor Kevin Croninger said the village computer was scrubbed as a cover-up. Barton resigned last June – the same day as did, said Crounger, as the village public works director whose credit card was used. The 14-page document also implicates other village employees and village board members.
Barton. Allegation is that petty frauds added up.