Charges Filed Against Former Librarian

The former director of the Malvern Public Library has been arrested and charged with ongoing criminal conduct and first-degree theft.Stacey Buick, 41, is accused of misappropriating more than $20,000 from the library from July 2006 – October 2013.Charges were filed in Mills County after an investigation by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office identified improper expenditures and unsupported documents during Buick’s tenure as library director.State auditor Mary Mosiman said the investigation determined Buick billed the library for personal items like video games, groceries, decorations for her child’s graduation party, a home theater system, camera, coffee machine, window air conditioning unit and TracFones. Investigators identified multiple receipts that had been altered with correction fluid and cut-and-paste methods.The altered receipts were identified after duplicate receipts were obtained from several retail stores, including Family Dollar, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Shopko, K-Mart and Pamida. Buick resigned Oct. 18, 2013, eight days after being confronted by city officials about questionable expenditures and receipts. The altered receipts indicated items being purchased were for library materials, but the duplicate receipts showed otherwise. An envelope discovered in the library director’s office contained many of the original receipts.Buick has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 17 in Mills County District Court. Ongoing criminal conduct is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. First-degree theft is a Class C felony and carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.