PAGE 8 - February 25, 2009
THE NEWSCASTER-Nature Coast News
Traffic Stop Results in Arrest Citrus Housing Services gets perfect
audit on SHIP program
for Inglis Woman
Citrus County has received a perfect score on its accountability review for the last
A minor traffic infraction in Inglis, Feb. 17, led to the arrest of an Inglis woman on
three years of its state funded affordable housing program. The State Housing Initiatives
four felony drug warrants from Georgia. According to the arrest report, the Levy County
Partnership program (SHIP) provides funds to local governments as an incentive to create
Sheriff's Office watched as 41-year-old Michelle Anne Marolta of 6731 S.E. Debra St. ran the
partnerships that produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily housing.
stop sign at Inglis Ave. and U.S. Hwy. 19, around 9:30 p.m. When the officer ran Marolta
The program was designed to serve very low, low, and moderate income families. Citrus has
through the computer systems, he learned that she had 4 felony arrest warrants for sale of
received almost $3.5 million in state money through the program in the last three years. The
cocaine from Georgia. She was transported to the Levy County Jail and held on $100,000
county contributed to the program by waiving the impact fees for affordable housing and
bond, awaiting extradition back to Georgia.
contributing some salaries for housing in relation to the programs.
Citrus Housing Services Director Joe Monroe, who serves as the local SHIP adminis-
Attempted Murder - Continued from page 1
trator, received the notification of the perfect audit Monday. The scores came after a three-day
review by an outside auditor. Monroe praised his staff, saying he was proud to work with them
to stab her on the head. She said, that when she'd called out to her guest that Jach was
and noting that there wasn’t even single a comment in the audit, which he thought was very
stabbing her, he'd come into the kitchen and wrestled Jach to the ground.
rare. He attributed the perfect scores to a number of things. First, Citrus was ahead of the curve,
Jach told the investigators that he'd kicked-in the door and gone into his ex-girlfriend's
he said, in implementing regulatory reforms in the program due to its affordable housing
home and stabbed her, but only after he'd taken the knife away from his ex-girlfriend's male
element in the county’s comprehensive plan. Unlike other counties, he said, Citrus had main-
guest.
tained an affordable housing advisory board because it felt so strongly about the need for
The guest told deputies that he'd been dating the victim, and when Jach had called
affordable housing.
her earlier in the evening, he could overhear him threatening to harm her. He said that he'd
Finally, he credited the Citrus County Clerk’s office for its help and cooperation with
heard the back door being kicked-in and had heard his girlfriend screaming for help, that Jach
the accounting for the program. SHIP funds are derived from the collection of documentary
was stabbing her.
stamp tax revenues, which are deposited into the Local Government Housing Trust Fund and
Officers then spoke with the victim's two children, who both stated that they'd
distributed to local governments that establish a local housing assistance program by ordi-
heard the back door being kicked-in, and they'd entered the kitchen to find their mother
nance and develop a local housing assistance plan and housing incentive strategy.
bleeding and their male guest holding Jach down on the floor. One of the children stated that
SHIP dollars may be used to fund emergency repairs, new construction, rehabilita-
he'd grabbed the knife, then bent and hid it so that it could not be used again. No one at the
tion, down payment and closing cost assistance, impact fees, construction and gap financing,
residence had ever seen the knife before, that had been used in the stabbing, a silver-colored,
mortgage buy-downs, acquisition of property for affordable housing, matching dollars for
metal butcher's knife.
federal housing grants and programs, and homeownership counseling.
The arrest report stated that there was damage to the rear door and the rear door's
Homosassa Woman Arrested on Fraud Charge
facing. The report stated that the victim had "very large lacerations" to her hand and arm, and
a small laceration to her face.
Jach was being held without bond at the Citrus County Detention Facility at the
A 30-year-old Homosassa woman was arrested by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, Jan. 30,
time of the report.
on a charge of scheme to defraud, $20,000 to $50,000. The previous day, the woman's em-
ployer, an area realty company, reported to the CCSO that there were irregularities in the
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, NATIONAL
company's checking accounts. The employer told officials that the bookkeeper had forged
and cashed numerous checks without the company's knowledge or permission. The busi-
INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE
ness owner had learned that the bookkeeper, Christina M. Bennis, having access to the
business' banking record via Quick Books, had set up a bogus account with approximately 41
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FINDING
suspicious transactions.
The business owner provided the CCSO with 10 checks that had been made pay-
OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
able to and cashed by Bennis. The bookkeeper was interviewed at the business by CCSO
The Department of Justice has made available to interested governmental and
investigators and admitted to writing numerous checks to herself and cashing them. She
private bodies and individuals a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Applica-
stated that the transactions in the bogus account were checks she had written to herself and
tion of Chemometrics and Fast GC-MS Analysis for the Identification of Ignitable Liquids
cashed without the owner's knowledge or permission. She also stated that there were several
in Fire Debris Samples, in Orlando, Florida. The FONSI is supported by an Environmental
other transactions that she had handled, which were not on the ledger, totaling approxi-
Assessment (EA) which studied potential environmental impacts associated with estab-
mately $2500. When shown the approximate total for the transactions listed in the bogus
lishing mathematical approaches to the identification of ignitable liquid residue in fire
account ledger, it totaled about $26,520, which Bennis said sounded about right. Upon her
debris samples by burning small amounts of common building materials with traces of
arrest, Bennis told officials that she was on probation, however, she was not charged at that
ignitable liquids in a laboratory hood at the University of Central Florida and conducting
time, as this information had not been verified. Her bond was set at $5000.
outside burns at the Florida Fire College in Ocala using transportation containers built out
ATTENTION!!
to resemble single inhabitable rooms and use small amounts of ignitable liquid to ignite the
fire, which is being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Insti-
Please be advised of the following:
tute of Justice.
The EA considered potential impacts to the natural and manmade environments
There is no relationship or affiliation
including: geology, topography, and soils; water resources, biological resources; air qual-
ity; noise; infrastructure/utilities; land use; transportation; socioeconomic resources; cul-
whatsoever between
tural resources; and human health and safety, among other topics associated with the
proposed action. Based on the information gathered during preparation of the EA, the
Sara "Sally" Price and
County of Marion finds that the proposed actions at the Florida Fire College will not
Ardis "Sunny" Price
significantly impact the environment.
Copies of the EA and FONSI can be obtained from: Ms. Lori Brown 12201 Re-
(broker/owner) River Coast Realty, Inc.
search Parkway Orlando, FL 32826 (407) 882-1114. A limited number of copies of the EA are
available to fill single copy requests.
A Paid Announcement Paid For And Approved by Ardis “Sunny” Price
Buddy & Fred’s Hardware Foster Perry, Realtor
7
ERA Suncoast Realty
BuddyandFreds.com
Plumbing - Electrical - Garden - Paint - Lumber
1206 S.E. U.S. Hwy. 19
We Carry Most Major Brands
Tools -Keys - Nuts - Bolts - Stainless
Crystal River, Florida 34429
Custom Reloading
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Interested Buyers?
We Buy Used Guns
352-447-2600
Est. 1983
(352) 795-6811 OFFICE
352-447-5595 Owned & Operated
352-447-5595
Cino Family
3/4 mile W. of US-19 on 40 W., Inglis
(352) 257-2181 CELL
Equal Housing Opportunity
Mon-Fri. 8-6 Sat. 8-2 Closed Sun.
(352) 447-8055 HOME
Hwy.
Left,
Hwy.
947 Hwy. 40 East, Inglis • on Left, 1.8 Miles East of U.S. Hwy. 19
EMAIL foster233@bellsouth.net
Formerly George’s Gun Shop, Next to White Bros. Racing
(352) 795-2662 FAX
Formerly
Celebrating 26Years Thank You!
WEBSITE www.ERASuncoast.com