Paris woman gets 33 months for stealing bingo proceeds HEAD OF METEER SCHOOL SAYS SHE USED MONEY TO HELP THOSE IN NEED A woman known in Bourbon County for her good deeds and her work with the poor was sentenced yesterday to 33 months in prison for stealing bingo proceeds that were supposed to go to charities. Dorcas Susie Ormsby, 56, who runs the Meteer School, which provides day care and other services for poor and special-needs children in Paris, was convicted in December of two counts of mail fraud in what federal prosecutors say was a complicated scheme to pocket money from charities. During her sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer Coffman, Ormsby steadfastly maintained her innocence, saying the only thing she is guilty of is bad bookkeeping. She said she never kept the money for herself and spent it only on charitable purposes. Ormsby said she is a victim of the justice system. Throughout this trial, I was in awe of how justice can be twisted by law and words, Ormsby said. Coffman denied probation. Despite Ormsbys good deeds, she must serve prison time to deter others from violating the law and to promote respect for it, Coffman said. Ormsby was ordered to pay $122,000 in restitution and a $10,000 fine to the government, with interest. In 2000, Ormsby entered into an agreement with the Scott County Touchdown Club, a booster group for high school athletic teams in Scott County, and the Fraternal Order of Police Royal Springs Lodge #59 to provide volunteers to run bingo games at a Georgetown bingo hall. In exchange for the volunteers, Ormsby would get a percentage of the bingo receipts. Initially, the Scott County Touchdown Club wrote checks to the Meteer School, which Ormsby deposited in the Meteer School checking account. In spring 2000, Ormsby informed the charities that they should make out the checks to an organization called Parents Athletic Support, which was formed by a parent at the Meteer School to finance a baseball trip. Ormsby told the Scott County group and the Fraternal Order of Police that PAS and Meteer School were connected and that the donations would go to the Meteer School. From 2000 to early 2004, Ormsby received $130,817.33 in checks payable to PAS. She cashed the checks and forged the signature of Ranetta Wells, the parent who formed PAS, according to federal prosecutors. Of the $130,000, approximately $122,000 went to Ormsby, federal prosecutors said in an indictment. Ormsby argued during the trial that all the money went to help parents at Meteer School or people who were part of another charity that Ormsby ran called the Patch Project. Several people testified during the trial that Ormsby gave them cash for groceries, car repairs, medical bills and tuition for college courses. The people had no receipts for the cash, and neither did Ormsby. Ormsby originally was charged with 15 counts of mail fraud, but the jury convicted her on two counts. Several Bourbon County leaders testified during the trial that Ormsby was well-known in the community for helping those down on their luck. Charles Arnold, Ormsbys lawyer, asked Coffman to set aside the December verdict or order a new trial, but Coffman declined. Arnold said he will appeal the conviction. She is clearly not a criminal, Arnold told Coffman. She is as close to a saint as you can be. I find it incredibly ironic we are in court today.