By Mallory Panuska
FAIRMONT — A former county employee charged with embezzling more than $9,100 from two county-run organizations has pleaded guilty to the felony charge.
On Sept. 30, Diana Jill Cosco entered the plea before Marion Judge David R. Janes, who delivered a suspended sentence of one to 10 years in jail and placed her on three years probation.
Cosco was employed as an administrative assistant for the county commission until she was charged with forging County Administrator Kris Cinalli’s name on a $932 check from the Marion County Development Authority without his knowledge in August 2008.
Cinalli, who was the county office manager at the time, controlled the county’s finances, which included the checkbooks for the MCDA and other county-run organizations.
Cosco was formally charged with and pleaded guilty to embezzling the $932 from the MCDA and $8,200.38 from the Greater Marion Public Service District, according to court records. She was ordered to pay full restitution for both offenses to the organizations before she was sentenced.
Cosco was represented in court by attorney Charles E. Anderson, and the state was represented by a special prosecutor from Harrison County. According to court documents, Cosco wished to apologized to Cinalli and the county commissioners and asked the state to pass her apology along.
E-mail Mallory Panuska at mpanuska@timeswv.com.
