Reno Councilwoman Pleads in Embezzlement Case

Thursday, March 7, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

She entered an Alford plea on Wednesday, which contends she committed no crime, but concedes the prosecution has sufficient evidence to convict her.

Dalske's lawyer, Ken McKenna, said the councilwoman only made bookkeeping errors.

"The whole question is did she intend to take money or did she just make mistakes," McKenna said. "She has to do what's best for her."

McKenna's comment insinuating that his client did nothing wrong infuriated District Attorney Dick Gammick.

"We may have seen the last Alford plea that our office will make," Gammick said. "I'm getting tired of having my face rubbed in this.

"It's semantics," he said of Dalske's Alford plea. "She's guilty."

Washoe District Judge Mills Lane will pronounce a formal sentence April 12, which will end her Council tenure. Dalske earlier said she would not seek re-election.

She was accused of an alleged theft of homeowner's association fees while she managed the Huffaker Hills Homeowners Association between July 1, 1993, and June 30, 1994.

The alleged crime was discovered after the association hired an auditor to review financial records kept by Dalske following complaints from residents that the premises were being neglected, court documents state.

Auditor Robert Owston reported that substantial funds were missing from the association for that year and that several units at the condominium complex had not paid the $70 monthly association dues.

Owston reportedly met with Dalske a year ago to discuss the alleged discrepancies which Dalske had marked paid for 14 units but money was not deposited into the association bank account.

Dalske allegedly personally managed nine of the 14 units for absentee owners and was charged with collecting rents and paying the dues from the proceeds, court documents state.

Dalske was fired in June 1994 and replaced by Michele Taylor. Taylor tried to get financial records turned over to her but Dalske refused to release them, the record states. In October, a judge ordered her to turn over the records.

The arrest warrant states nine units were in arrears of $840 each for the year in question and those were the units managed personally by Dalske. An investigation began when the association reported the auditor's findings to police.

On April 20, Dalske allegedly sent a letter to the association admitting she had made accounting errors and offering to pay back $7,070. The affidavit states she had borrowed the money from a friend.