Doctor-manager hearing depicts $45,000 difference

A Cape Girardeau doctor argued in court Wednesday that his former office manager stole more than $47,800 in forged checks, while the defense claimed the amount stolen was much less than that amount.

Melissa James, 32, of Scott City, pleaded guilty to three counts of felony forgery, admitting to writing out three checks worth $1,583.43 to herself without permission from her employer, Dr. Paul Clarke, an obstetrician and gynecologist. In a related case, she also pleaded guilty to writing prescriptions for herself.

James was sentenced to five years' probation for the crimes.

During a restitution hearing Wednesday to determine how much James owes her former employer, Clarke testified before Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis that the defendant stole more than $47,800 from him in forged checks written to herself.

But James' attorney, Michael I. Lawrence Sr., said outside of court that Clarke's claims were merely retribution for his client filing sexual harassment complaints against her former employer.

"The money is not missing," Lawrence said, adding evidence shows the checks were made out to vendors that Clarke's office used.

According to Lawrence, James quit her job in July after repeated sexual advances from Clarke. Clarke denied the allegations and said James quit in August when he discovered the forgeries.

Outside of court, James said the $1,583.43 she wrote to herself was money she believed Clarke owed him in back pay and vacation time, something Clarke called a lie.

Following the prosecution's direct examination of Clarke, Lawrence began his cross with a question that caused an uproar in the courtroom.

"Dr. Clarke, are you mental?" he asked Clarke, and then immediately withdrew the question.

Lewis called both prosecuting and defense attorneys to his bench to admonish them, and Lawrence walked back to the defense table apologizing for his remark.

Lawrence asked Clarke that if he signs all his checks, how could he not notice money being misappropriated for two years while James worked for him.

"I'm a busy physician. I don't have time to micromanage my office," Clarke said.

Another witness, Donna Watkins, officer manager for Clarke since Aug. 23, 2005, testified she discovered discrepancies while organizing past records and getting acclimated to her new job.

She found several canceled checks listed on bank statements that were missing from office files, Watkins said. When she called the bank questioning about the missing canceled checks, she was told most were made out to either James or the Family Support Payment Center.

On cross-examination, Wat-kins said the canceled checks written out to James were not payroll checks, because the canceled payroll checks had been found.

During Clarke's testimony, he was given an opportunity during direct examination to present his case more freely than the typical question-answer procedure that is seen on the witness stand.

After James wrote checks to herself, Clarke said she would change the recipient of the check in a computer system to a vendor Clarke used, which would be reflected in bank statements. When the statements from the bank arrived, she would remove the forged check, he said.

Clarke claimed the stolen money helped pay for James' wedding and subsequent nine-day honeymoon in Mexico. Any leftover funds were then hidden, possibly in an alleged joint bank account James shares with her children, Clarke speculated.

After both sides rested their case, Lewis said he would take the matter under advisement and make a ruling on a later date.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127