Milwaukee DPW workers embezzled $100K, woman sentenced
MILWAUKEE - A former Milwaukee Department of Public Works employee was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for her role in embezzling more than $100,000 from the city – and spending the money at Potawatomi Casino.
Kelly Whitemore-Behling was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. The 47-year-old, along with fellow DPW employee Kyle Hepp, pleaded guilty to the same federal charges in March: conspiracy to commit theft from a federally-funded program and theft from a federally-funded program.
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Case details
Whitmore-Behling and Hepp were responsible for maintaining a fleet of city-owned vehicles and equipment, court filings state. That included selling unneeded property on the DPW's behalf, the proceeds of those sales thus belonging to the city.
Federal documents said Whitemore-Behling started working for the city in 2014, and Hepp joined the DPW in 2021. The illegal acts took place in 2022, when both were put in charge of selling or disposing of DPW property.
Milwaukee Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse
Prosecutors alleged Whitemore-Behling and Hepp sold almost all the DPW property they were entrusted with to people who they knew for "far less than the fair market value" in a money-making scheme. In total, the two allegedly paid $136,000 for city equipment that had a fair market value of more than $392,000. They made more than $100,000, split between the two of them, and then "gambled excessively" at Potawatomi using that money.
Court filings indicate the two agreed to pay the city more than $357,000 in restitution.