Ex-Official Pleads Guilty To Stealing $80,000 From Wendell

The former finance director of Wendell has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $80,000 from the eastern Wake County town over several years.

Barbara Archer Raper, 70, received a suspended sentence of five to six months in jail and was placed on three years of supervised probation. She was also ordered to pay $12,224 in restitution to the town and the State Bureau of Investigation and to undergo a mental health assessment.

Raper resigned last November after overseeing Wendell's finances for 34 years.

An audit last fall found the more than $275,000 had been misappropriated since 2000.

Authorities said all they could prove in court that Raper stole was about $84,000, but Wendell officials have filed suit against her to recover all the money.

The suit alleges that Raper altered checks and financial documents and concealed or destroyed financial records.