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Home > Blogs > Dayton Courts: Legal and crime news > Archives > 2009 > May > 19 > Entry
Girl scout leader who stole cookie money is sentenced to 30 days in jail
DAYTON — A former Girl Scout leader convicted of stealing $28,000 in cookie money was sentenced Monday, May 18, to 30 days in the Montgomery County Jail.
Common Pleas Judge Connie S. Price ordered Tamara Jo Ward to make full restitution to Girl Scout Troop 2162 and placed her on five years probation.
Ward, 45, of Union, pleaded guilty in April to a single count of grand theft of more than $5,000, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison. The charge was the sole count in her indictment.
“Sadly, rather than being a role model to these girls, she betrayed them and stole their cookie money,” said county Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr. “This type of outrageous, selfish behavior is despicable.”
Detectives arrested Ward on July 21 when she came to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Harrison Twp. offices to be interviewed.
Ward started Troop 2162 in 2000 and was the leader until the troop was dissolved in 2007. During that time, she had access to the bank account the troop used to deposit cookie funds, Heck said.
That money was to be used for the troop’s recreational activities, but Ward got a debit card, and during a five-year-period, spent the money on vacations, personal expenses, utility payments and groceries, Heck said.
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Comments
By Lisa
May 19, 2009 3:03 PM | Link to this
Such a shame! Where were the checks and balances that should be in place to prevent one person from having total control of the money??? That is a lot of cookie money! Did the girls not benefit at all from the sale?By GS Leader
May 19, 2009 3:08 PM | Link to this
Tammy Ward disgraced not only her troop, but the entire Northmont Service Unit and the Buckeye Trails Girl Scouts in general. She hurt a lot of people and I can not feel sorry for her regarding the restitution she must pay. I was personally attacked by her and I commend the Council for finally looking into this. I hope that the pain does not linger with her family or her former troop members, but this is a great example of what happens when you don’t play by someone else’s rules.By Brandon
May 19, 2009 3:08 PM | Link to this
The system is strange…this lady gets 30 days and 5 years probation for stealing cookie money (which is terrible)…but the ex city manager that got charged with importuning only got 3 years probation. Sounds like the system is saying it’s bad to try to have sex with little girls but it’s just inexcusable to steal their cookie money…LOL What a great system we have!By Rob
May 19, 2009 3:42 PM | Link to this
I hear ya Brandon…don’t go there… Honestly, thinking back to my Bride’s time as a GS Leader, $28K is a lot of cookies! Especially when the Troop only gets about 45 cents or so a box. Yup, checks and balances are an absolute must.By TRB
May 19, 2009 3:49 PM | Link to this
I saw her on the news and it looked like she ate $28,000 worth of cookies.By gs leader
May 19, 2009 4:56 PM | Link to this
As a current girl scout leader this saddens me that she would betray her girls like that. i love my girls want to see them enjoy the benefits of hard work adn earning their own money. trully sad what she has done. And she gives leaders a bad name because of it. My co leader and I both have access to the account and checks so we can keep track of eahc other and troop funds.By Recovering Member
May 19, 2009 7:38 PM | Link to this
For me it’s not about the sentence, really. It’s really about a time of healing for the entire Northmont community. She not only stole from the troop funds, but she was a mean-spirited, abusive dictator who bullied and mistreated both the girls and the parents within the troop. We were so afraid she would get off with just a hand-slap, we were even warned that she probably wouldn’t see jail time because she is a mother with children. However, I think the judge felt that she deserved a stiffer penalty and hopefully the jail time, probation, community service, restitution, and other stipulations may have an effect on her. I doubt it, though. She stood in the packed courtroom completely emotionless and without remorse and when the judge asked if she had anything to say she replied, “nope”, displaying a total lack of respect for everyone, including the judge. It is now time for the healing process to begin. I am hoping that these girls who have worked so hard and have nothing to show for it will be able to turn this negative experience into a positive by continuing to live by the values and ideals contained within the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law and by continuing to participate in community service projects, and becoming mature, responsible young adults. They need to take pride in what they have accomplished thus far in their young lives and to not be embarrassed to be a Girl Scout because of the actions of a heartless and cruel troop leader. That money could have been put to good use to help any number of worthy causes within our community, in addition to rewarding our girls for all their hard work.By Leader01
May 19, 2009 7:47 PM | Link to this
I am also a GS leader and do not understand how she got away with it for so long..we have to turn in annual financial reports to Buckeye Trails. Someone dropped the ball here.By Jim
May 19, 2009 9:00 PM | Link to this
30 days in jail for stealing 28k? Are you kidding? She should have gotten at least a year.By GS Mom
May 19, 2009 9:14 PM | Link to this
Tammy Ward deserves alot more than what she got. She is a very abusive, mean, and nasty woman. Hopefully, in the 30 days she spends in jail she will think about what she has done and how many people she has hurt. Unfortunately, knowing the type of person she is she doesn’t really give a darn and will probably never changeBy Paul J.
May 20, 2009 7:24 AM | Link to this
Thirty days for 28 thousand! Sounds good to me. Where do I sign on?By Northmont Leader
May 20, 2009 8:20 AM | Link to this
I, too, think that Tammy got too little punishment for this crime. She once told me that the ladies in my troop should have never been Girl Scouts because they were “different.” I have proof that she stole $485 from my troop’s cookie proceeds several years back, after they struggled to keep up with her troop and others during cookie sales. There was absolutely NO discussing anything with her. She was cruel, mean, and uncaring. And to stand so smuggly in a courtroom, with Girl Scouts in attendance, and reply “Nope” When a judge asked if she had anything to say is a perfect example of the narcissistic behavior she displayed towards everyone. This punishment was not nearly enough for her, but at least the truth is finally out. I hope that Tammy finally realizes that she is NOT better than everyone else.By Ladyvol
May 21, 2009 1:35 PM | Link to this
Is one of the terms of her 5 year probation the fact that she is not allowed to be involved with any type of community organization?By Ladyvol
May 21, 2009 1:36 PM | Link to this
Is one of the terms of her 5 year probation the fact that she is not allowed to be involved with any type of community organization?By Ladyvol
May 21, 2009 1:40 PM | Link to this
She is listed as being in charge of uniforms with the Northmont Say Soccer organization. Seems like they should remove her from this position