Woman charged in church theft has yet to pay restitution in Massachusetts

A local woman convicted of embezzling thousands of dollars from a North Andover church last year has yet to pay any of it back and will now face a judge to determine if she has violated her probation.




Dawn Appel, 40, of 76 Blossom St., Haverhill, appeared in Lawrence District Court last week, charged with larceny by check over $250 after she allegedly wrote a bogus $365 rent check.



In November 2009, Appel was sentenced to three years of probation for stealing $38,481.68 from North Parish Church in North Andover, where she was working as church administrator.



As a condition of her probation, Appel was ordered to pay back $13,500 in restitution to the church. She was given until the end of her three-year probation term in August 2012 to do so.



But after her more recent larceny charge, Probation Department Spokesman Coria Holland said Appel was issued a notice of surrender last week, giving her seven business days to appear in court. Holland said Appel must discuss with a judge her ability to pay the restitution.



"She has failed to comply with the conditions," said Holland. "It will be determined whether she is in violation."



The Rev. Lee Bluemel, pastor at North Parish Church, said Appel has yet to pay back any of the $13,500. Of the remaining money that was stolen, Bluemel said a portion was paid back by an insurance company, while another sum was contested by Appel's lawyer in court.



Bluemel said members of the parish remain hopeful they will eventually receive the $13,500.



"We understand where the court order is, but we're also moving on," said Bluemel. "We have wonderful new staff in place. We have more active lay oversight in place. I think the trust of the congregation is rebuilt because they realize it was one person's actions. I think we've really put it behind us."



Appel was found guilty in connection with the church embezzlement on charges of larceny over $250, improper use of a credit card, forgery of a check, and uttering a false check.



Previously, Appel lived at 15 Bixby Ave. in North Andover.



She had worked at the church since 2006 before being placed on unpaid administrative leave and turning herself in to the North Andover Police Department.



Appel is believed to have taken the money from the roughly 350-member Unitarian Universalist church between Jan. 1, 2007, and April 24, 2009.



In an April 2009 e-mail to Bluemel and other church members on file in court, Appel wrote that she was in "great financial despair" and spent the stolen money on bills.



In regard to her more recent larceny charge, Appel is accused of writing a bad check in September 2009 by her landlord, Melissa Drouin of Lawrence, according to incident reports on file with the North Andover and Haverhill police departments.



Drouin told Haverhill police in early 2010 that she believed Appel "wrote the check knowing the account had already been closed and the check would bounce," according to an incident report.



Appel agreed last week to pay Drouin $365 in restitution, according to Carrie Kimball Monahan, spokeswoman for the Essex County District Attorney's Office.