When last we left Juanita Myrick, the meticulous bureaucrat and longtime veteran of the Cuyahoga County Department of Employment and Family Services had been indicted for stealing $864,000 in welfare checks from the agency. In a marathon scam that escaped the county’s notice for a whopping 13 years, Myrick would doctor the files of former welfare clients, switching their information on the computer so that she got the checks instead of them. She even invented clients—some of whom lived in Germany [“The Perfect Scam,” June 13]. All the while, she kept getting promoted up the agency’s food chain. It was a clever scheme, and won Myrick a lengthy list of fraud and theft charges from the county prosecutor’s office. This week, she finally pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. We’re assuming the computers don’t work as well in the slam, so maybe this time Myrick won’t get promoted as fast. —Lisa Rab

Only in Jimmy Dimoraland could someone steal $864,000 over 13 years -- and keep getting promoted.

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2008/04/30/juanita-my...

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