A former organizer of the Grand Cities Art Fest made her first appearance in court Monday on a charge of embezzling more than $30,000 from a Grand Forks nonprofit group.
Laurel Bartlett, 38, was the executive director of the Downtown Leadership Group, which used to manage Art Fest, but she was fired in March 2008 after the group's board discovered funds were missing from the group's bank account.
Bartlett was consequently charged with felony theft in April. When the Herald reached her by phone last month in Kansas and asked her about the charge, she said it was the first she had heard of it and declined to comment. Messages left for her attorney, Shawn Autrey, have not been returned.
Bartlett, who turned herself in Monday at the Grand Forks County jail, posted $10,000 in bail and was released Monday afternoon following her court appearance. She has a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 8.
The Downtown Leadership Group promoted events in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, including the Art Fest, an annual gathering of artists and vendors. Bartlett was hired by the DLG in late 2004. She was the group's only full-time employee.
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The DLG disbanded in 2008 partly because of the embezzlement scandal, and the North Valley Arts Council now organizes the Art Fest.
If convicted, Bartlett faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
