The former employee of a Westside church who was convicted in August of first-degree theft for moving some $85,000 in donated funds from church accounts to her personal bank accounts over a span of six years was sentenced yesterday to
The former employee of a Westside church who was convicted in August of first-degree theft for moving some $85,000 in donated funds from church accounts to her personal bank accounts over a span of six years was sentenced yesterday to a jail term of 18 months, according to court records.
Daria Bruce, 62, of ‘Ele‘ele, faced a prison term of up to 10 years for the Class B felony, but 5th Circuit Chief Judge Randal Valenciano opted for a sentence including five years of probation, 18 months of confinement, 500 hours of community service and monthly restitution payments totaling $5,000, ostensibly equal to the church’s insurance deductible, according to court records.
However, Bruce will not be heading to prison immediately, as she transferred the bail that had been keeping her free pending sentencing to allow her to stay out of jail pending her appeal. Bail was set at $5,000 upon her arrest in 2006, according to police records, although that amount could have been adjusted in the interim.
The appeal will be handled by O‘ahu attorney Michael Jay Green rather than William Feldhacker, who represented Bruce during her two-week trial. A starting date for the appeal was not available as of press time.
Bruce was fired from Kalaheo’s Holy Cross Church and its ‘Ele‘ele satellite Sacred Heart Parish in April 2005 after an investigation uncovered that she had abused her role as church secretary to move funds first to the Filipino Catholic Club, a “booster” organization in which she served as treasurer and later president, and finally to her personal accounts.
Bruce was indicted in January 2006, with the trial originally scheduled to begin in May. It was postponed nine different times before Valenciano denied a 10th motion to continue the case in August of this year.
After an arduous jury selection process, deputy prosecuting attorney Mauna Kea Trask called some eight witnesses, Feldhacker called some five more, and the jury worked its way through thousands of pages of documents, checks and financial statements during two weeks of evidence presentation and testimony.
The jury, after two days of deliberation, returned a verdict of guilty on Aug. 21.
Bruce stood completely still and showed no emotion as Feldhacker requested a polling of the 12-member jury, requiring them to stand, one by one, and confirm that they agreed with the decision.
The verdict was unanimous.
“The jury did their job,” Trask said outside of the court. “They listened to all the evidence and they made their decision.”
Bruce has no prior convictions in the state of Hawai‘i, according to Kaua‘i Police Department records.
