Court action slow to follow after 3 accused of stealing from BREC park system
BATON ROUGE — A former employee of the Baton Rouge park system who is accused of stealing thousands of dollars by misusing a credit card is due in court in October as a criminal case proceeds against him, but there's been no movement in another case since 2022, court records show. In a third case, no charges were filed.
Legislative auditors, in a report Monday, noted that one person stole $66,705 from BREC over a five-year period ending last summer. Gregory Williams, 41, is due to appear before Judge Tarvald Smith on Oct. 3 after pleading not guilty last month. A trial date has not been set.
The last action in a case against Valerie Griffin, 49, occurred in 2022, after her case was assigned to Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts. Griffin is accused of fudging paperwork on cash transactions and stealing $3,269, the auditors said. A sheriff's office affidavit also said $666 in checks was missing.
According to the auditors, another employee received $3,706 in improper mileage reimbursements but was not charged.
Williams was a special facilities manager. A Baton Rouge Police report said he used a BREC credit card to pay for services benefiting is personal business. The audit said Williams had made restitution of $20,716, but BRPD said the amount of Williams' personal gain totaled $30,532. The difference couldn't immediately be resolved.
Griffin was a center supervisor who told investigators that she falsified receipts for site rentals at the Alsen Park Recreation Center to "look out for patron(s)" who were "going through a rough time."
The auditors blamed the thefts on poor oversight.
None of the three accused still work for BREC, which said it considered the situations "personnel matters" and declined comment.