By Stephenie Steitzer
Enquirer contributor

Friends and relatives say Ronald Epling is a quiet, caring and hardworking accountant. He enjoys spending time with his stepdaughter, who has cerebral palsy, and playing the euphonium - a brass instrument - with the University of Kentucky's alumni band.

The 51-year-old finance director of Florence, Northern Kentucky's wealthiest city, is in the Boone County jail under a $1 million cash bond. For now, he is accused of embezzling $125,000 from the city. The commonwealth attorney says he admitted to embezzling $1 million over nearly 15 years.

Mr. Epling's mother, 81-year-old Hazel Epling, said her son was supposed to spend Christmas with her and his sister Lucille in their hometown of Elkhorn City, Ky., 200 miles from Cincinnati.

"He's holding up all right," said his mother, who is worried about his heart condition and diabetes.

Ms. Epling said she does not believe her son is guilty of siphoning $1 million from the city's general fund since 1988 - one year after he was hired.

She describes her son as a gentle man who always worked hard - once having three jobs at the same time - and enjoyed music and sports.

"He's such a kind, compassionate man," Ms. Epling said.

Mr. Epling is listed as a supporter of Fort Mitchell's Redwood Rehabilitation Center in its 2000 annual report. The center assists children and adults with disabilities.

People who know Mr. Epling say he treated his estranged wife's daughter, who has cerebral palsy, like his own.

"He was just great with Beth," Lexington resident and minister Garrett Stephens said.

Mr. Stephens said Mr. Epling met his wife, Billie Kay, in a Southland Christian Church singles group.

"As far as I have known him, he seemed like a real decent kind of guy," Mr. Stephens said.

Former state officials who worked with Mr. Epling in the 1980s at the now-defunct Cabinet for Human Resources say Mr. Epling was always a straightforward, hardworking and trustworthy employee.

"I can't imagine him being caught with his pants down for something like that," James Gayhart, retired branch manager for the cabinet, said of the embezzlement charges.

State officials said they would probably not investigate whether Mr. Epling took money from state coffers because financial records from that time have been destroyed.

Mike Jennings, spokesman for the Kentucky Cabinet for Families & Children, described Mr. Epling as a "model employee for the state."

Reporter Jim Hannah contributed to this report.