LETTER TO THE EDITOR
No penalty too stiff for Cooper

The way I see it:

I don't know Patty Cooper - wouldn't know her if I saw her. By the same token, I don't know Fonda Reeves, either. However, these women have several things in common.

Both were trusted employees - Mrs. Cooper for the City of Bullard, Mrs. Reeves for the Hide-A-Way Lake Club, Inc. I have to believe both women were paid a decent salary, as both stayed on their jobs several years - that is, until they were found to be embezzling from the employers who trusted them.

In other words, they probably had enough to live on - without stealing.

Sometimes greed gets in the way, and I guess they wanted more.

Most people would be happy with their jobs or try to find a better one - not steal from the people who trust them. To me, embezzlement is just a nice word for the real one - stealing.

And here's another thing I don't understand: Judge Kerry Russell sentenced both women.

As we know, Mrs. Cooper received a slap on the wrist and for those who don't know, Mrs. Reeves received 30 years in prison. Both pleaded guilty. How fair is that?

Mrs. Reeves did embezzle $424,000, while Mrs. Cooper's amount could only traced to $100,000 - that we know. So why wasn't Mrs. Cooper given at least ¼ of the amount of prison time that Mrs. Reeves received?

What exactly does the phrase "justice will prevail" mean?

Mrs. Cooper wrote a letter of apology - printed in the Tyler paper. She starts out by writing that she "pled guilty as not to bring any more embarrassment" to her family.

How about "I pled guilty because I am?"

She goes on to write that she is proud of the honors that were given to her during her employment (while she was stealing).

How hypocritical is that?

Doesn't she have a conscience?

As I wrote in the first paragraph, I know neither woman, so it's nothing personal. It's just a big question mark that I can't figure out.

What about Mrs. Cooper tampering with government records? Same thing.

No punishment for this either?

When I was a child reading fairy tales there was always a moral to the story.

I guess you might say that the moral of this story is this: If you steal money from your employer, don't spend it all. Save some so that if you get caught, you have something to bargain with.

If you don't get caught, then you have a little nest egg for your future. Prepare a letter of apology in case you are caught - although you are only really sorry that you got caught, not that you stole.

If you are sorry, why did you do it in the first place?

Mayor Pro-Tem A.W. Hines asks for citizens to speak up now and let our representatives know what they want.

If Mrs. Cooper had gotten the sentencing she deserved then I might agree with Mr. Jessup - who said recently that we shouldn't pursue further charges against her.

The same judge sentenced one woman to 30 years in prison and the other next to nothing.

He seems to be saying that Bullard doesn't count.

If this is dropped now, it seems we are agreeing with him.

I don't think any penalty is too stiff for Mrs. Cooper.
Cleo Newburn,
          Bullard