Post Messenger Recorder -

Joyce Ziehli, the former New Glarus Home administrative secretary, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Friday, March 20. In October 2014, Ziehli had entered no contest pleas to five of the six felony counts of Theft in a Business Setting over $10,000. The first count that had covered dates from 2003 – 2007 was dropped. She was also sentenced to 15 years extended supervision and ordered to pay $295,839.20 in restitution.

Ziehli had been charged after an extensive investigation that included the State Department of Justice, Department of Criminal Investigation, the New Glarus Police Department and forensic accounting firms. When asked about the sentencing, New Glarus Police Chief Burt Boldebuck said, "Well, it is what it is." He also thanked New Glarus Police Sergeant Jeff Sturdevant and DCI Agent Amy Lehmann, noting that the case came together due to hard work and dedication.

There were a number of witnesses called at the sentencing hearing, including two representatives from the New Glarus Home. Dennis Tomczyk, New Glarus Home Board member, said that the crime was "devastating" for the Home. He said that many lives had been impacted, including residents, staff members and friends and family. Tomczyk added that he had concerns about Ziehli's continued presence in the community and requested a lengthy prison term for "someone who would take advantage of so many."

Both Tomczyk and New Glarus Home Administrator Rick Colby said that the New Glarus Home had worked with a crisis management team to deal with "overwhelming expressions of fear and concern" among residents and staff. He said Ziehli's actions had "destroyed" morale at the New Glarus Home.

There were also witnesses who spoke on Ziehli's behalf, including friends, a priest and her current employer. Andrew Jenness, of Heartsong Assisted Living facility, had hired Ziehli in 2014. Jenness said that Ziehli was a caring person and invaluable to Heartsong. Others spoke of her warmth and dedication to others, even assisting with the care of the elderly mother of a friend.

Ziehli's attorney, Robert Duxstad, asked for probation and a six month county jail sentence for Ziehli, saying she is someone who "deserves a second chance." He said she took the money to keep her finances afloat and shore up failing businesses.

Ziehli also spoke to court, apologizing to the New Glarus Home and adding, "I have been an embarrassment to family and friends."

Judge Thomas Vale said that although he was sympathetic to Ziehli's issues, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, her offenses spanned many years and her problems could not be used as an excuse for her crimes. He suggested that her thefts were a way of keeping order in her life, which was plagued by financial problems. Vale noted that he believed Ziehli had already received a second chance when, in 2010, then Administrator Roger Goepfert confronted her about irregularities in the resident account. Ziehli told Goepfert it was a mistake, and that she would take care of it. Instead, she continued to take money.

Vale said, "You had a chance to stop and you did not."

Following the sentencing she was led from the courtroom, amid tears from family and friends.