Bar association bilked of $36,000 on credit card

Bill Gang

Friday, March 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The former office administrator for the State Bar Association is in jail on charges that she bilked the organization out of nearly $36,000 in unauthorized credit-card charges.

Deputy District Attorney Valerie Adair said Thursday that unauthorized charges on the bar association's American Express card over the last four months included such things as children's furniture and a $7,000 trip to Jamaica.

Alyssa Brazil, who had worked for the bar association since January 1996, faces 12 theft charges and four counts of burglary. If convicted, she faces the possibility of 100 years in prison although probation is also a possibility.

Adair said Brazil was in charge of the American Express statements as part of her job and had the ability to remove the unauthorized receipts before the bill was sent for payment.

In February, however, the statement went to another employee and apparent discrepancies resulted in an audit that determined there were unauthorized charges on the association credit card Brazil used as part of her job.

Adair noted that the audit only went back to December and it is possible that a more extensive audit could turn up additional losses.

Brazil was arraigned Tuesday before visiting Justice of the Peace Marley Robinson, who refused to reduce the defendant's $56,000 bail.

Her attorney, Peter S. Christiansen, said Brazil tried to turn herself into police after it was learned an arrest warrant had been issued but "confusion" resulted in her incarceration.

A preliminary hearing is set for April 1.

At this point, Christiansen said, Brazil "just wants to get her life back on track so she can care for her two daughters."

The attorney noted that she is a single mother of girls ages 2 and 10 and is going through a divorce. He added that she also has suffered some medical problems.

Christiansen indicated that "if the allegations are proven to be true, then she will try to make it right."