Judge Sentences Ex Burnham Village Clerk To 18 Months In Prison For Embezzlement

(CBS) -- A judge sentenced a 70-year-old former village clerk to 18 months in prison for embezzling $650,000 from south suburban Burnham, reports WBBM's John Cody.

Burnham Mayor Robert Polk told the court Nancy Dobrowski's embezzlement was enough to leave the small working-class village in debt with most of stolen funds funneled into nearby casinos.

Prosecutor Steven Block said federal judge Charles Kocoras sternly lectured the defendant, "…about the fact that her nine years of pillaging had a dramatic effect on the citizens of Burnham and described it as a serious betrayal of her public office and that she was basically stealing from her friends and neighbors for years."

Block said Dobrowski also acknowledged failure to pay over $200,000 in income taxes. Dobrowski begins serving her year-and-a half sentence on October 21.