Probation in RV tax evasion case

CLAY CENTER, Neb. — Citing medical concerns, a judge sentenced former Adams County Treasurer Julia Moeller to three years of probation, rather than prison, Friday for felony tax evasion.

Clay County District Judge Vicky Johnson said the fact that caring for Moeller’s extensive health problems would cost more tax money if she were imprisoned weighed heavily in her decision.

“I think the taxpayers have already paid enough for you,” Johnson told Moeller.

Moeller, 67, of Hastings, pleaded no contest in August to tax evasion, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, as part of a plea agreement in Adams County District Court. In exchange for her plea, another misdemeanor charge, abuse of public records, was dropped. The case was heard by Johnson because both Adams County district judges had recused themselves.

Moeller was accused of falsely filling out a sales tax form on a motor home she and her husband bought in 2007, while she was the county treasurer.

In an unscripted statement in court Friday, Moeller said she feels “a great deal of remorse” about the incident. But she denied having knowingly evaded sales tax on the motor home.

Moeller was sentenced to three years of probation on the tax evasion charge and 18 months of probation on the official misconduct charge, with the two terms to be served at the same time. She was also fined $1,500 and ordered to pay $3,211.98 in restitution.

Assistant Attorney General Jeff Gaertig, the prosecuting attorney, made an impassioned case for prison time for Moeller, arguing that her case epitomizes the type of behavior that has eroded the public’s trust in government.

“This is a case of corruption,” Gaertig said. “This is a case of cronyism.”

Moeller’s attorney, Art Langvardt, detailed her numerous medical problems, including congestive heart failure and a bad back, shoulder and elbow. With a pacemaker and a need for oxygen at night, Moeller’s conditions would make a prison sentence “almost unworkable,” he said.

Moeller’s daughter, former treasurer’s office employee Michelan Parr, 42, of Hastings, was sentenced to a year of probation last month for two misdemeanors after being charged last fall with the same counts as her mother.