By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - A former executive assistant for the nonprofit Warren County Foundation, who served prison time for stealing more than $50,000 from a school, three estates and a law firm, is being investigated in the disappearance of more than $75,000.

Marcia Snively, a 41-year-old Monroe mother of two, is the only suspect in the investigation, but has not been charged with a crime, a Lebanon police detective sergeant confirmed Thursday.

She was terminated July 9 after foundation officials conducted an internal investigation and found a problem.

Foundation officials say they did not know about her criminal background when she was hired early last year.

"There were no red flags that were raised at that time," said former foundation President Robert Elias, now the executive director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.

"I don't recall any negative feeling about her. She presented herself in a very straightforward and professional manner."

It's the latest in a recent series of alleged thefts from nonprofits in Greater Cincinnati, including from churches, a Cub Scout pack, a youth sports association and school programs.

Lebanon police, who have been investigating since early July, are not sure how long the alleged Warren County Foundation theft has been taking place, Detective Sgt. Fred Jacobs said.

Part of Snively's job was to take deposits to the bank and do some database entry. Foundation Business Manager Henry Brockman said the foundation believes she was changing names on outgoing checks.

"I was speechless," said Brockman. "She fit into the team real nice." Snively's attorney did not return phone calls Thursday.

The community foundation, which distributes income from its endowment to charities and scholarships, is insured for $200,000.

Those served have not lost funding because of the missing money.

Snively, a former Lakota Freshman School secretary, served more than two years in prison for stealing $16,532 from the school and more than $34,000 from three estates and a law firm.

She was sentenced in 1999, and ordered to repay the money she stole from the school within two years of her release. She did not put the school on her resume when applying for the executive assistant position, Elias said.

The foundation did not do a criminal background check, but did a series of interviews and reference checks, Elias said. Officials say they are changing their practices.

"Obviously, we didn't do a good job," board President Bob Morgan says of the hiring process. "It's harder nowadays with privacy laws."

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com