HUNTSVILLE, Alabama —
A former Big Spring Partners employee has been arrested for stealing money from the nonprofit downtown revitalization group, The Times’ news partner WHNT is reporting.
Stefanie Nicole Hamilton-Dryer was arrested Nov. 16 and charged with two counts of first-degree theft of property, plus a single count of second-degree theft of property, according to WHNT.
Dryer’s arrest followed an internal audit that revealed Big Spring Partners was missing $10,300, WHNT reports. She was booked into the Madison County Jail on bonds totaling $25,000 and released the same day.
Her first court appearance on the theft charges is scheduled for Dec. 12.
In a written statement provided to the media Monday afternoon, Big Spring Partners Chairman John Stallworth said the missing money came to light during a financial review of the Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial, which was managed by Big Spring Partners.
“The employee responsible for these funds was allowed to resign while we investigated this fully,” Stallworth said. “After the audit, and a more complete investigation, our findings were reported to the appropriate officials.”
All partners on the veterans memorial were later “made whole,” said Stallworth, and the theft did not involve any city tax money given to Big Spring Partners to market downtown.
Located next to the Historic Huntsville Depot, the $3 million veterans memorial honors more than 360 local service members killed during World War I, World War II, Korea, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War and the global war on terrorism. It opened in November 2011 following a three-year private fundraising effort that included the sale of thousands of engraved brick pavers.
Dryer, 29, was an executive assistant for Big Spring Partners before leaving the organization.
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