Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RALPH ANSAMI
Hurley — It’s possible the case of a 52-year-old Hurley woman who is charged with six counts of theft from Iron County may be settled in a month.
The attorney for Mary Peterson Tijan, of 112 Germania St., told Iron County Judge Patrick Madden Wednesday that negotiations with special prosecutor Fritz Schellgell are continuing.
At a pre-trial hearing, Joseph Rafferty Jr. told Madden, “I assure the court that there’s a cauldron (of activity) bubbling underneath,” referring to the talks.
Madden told Rafferty he’s aware of the negotiating process and told him to take the proper amount of time in resolving the case.
Madden then delayed the hearing for a month, allowing the negotiations to continue.
Tijan is charged with making unauthorized checks, expense requests and charges against the Department of Human Services totaling $185,388.
The complaint was authorized by Schellgell on Aug. 9.
A resolution of the case in a month would be speedy, as it can take more than a year to resolve such felony charges.
The Hurley Police Department alleges from September 2013 through April 8, 2016, while an employee of the county, Tijan submitted vouchers to the county clerk’s office and wrote checks that were questionable, also using a county credit card for her personal and family use.
She was one of only two DHS employees authorized to request checks for the department.
Tijan’s signature bond of $100,000 was continued on Wednesday.
