By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - Embezzling from an employer would have been bad enough - but stealing from a church is "the worst form of the offense," Common Pleas Judge James L. Flannery said Thursday.

That explained why he sent a Warren County woman to prison for two years.

Diana Kembel, 45, stole about $200,000 from Mason United Methodist Church, where she used to serve as secretary/treasurer.

Flannery fined Kembel $10,000 and ordered her to repay the stolen funds; the amount will be determined after he hears lawyers' arguments on the disputed sums Sept. 29. Her lawyer, David Ernst, said he thinks Kembel took around $180,000; Assistant Prosecutor Bruce McGary said he thinks the amount exceeds $220,000.

Kembel had faced up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated theft, a third-degree felony. But as a first-time, nonviolent offender, there was a presumption that she would serve no prison time, McGary said.

Ernst said his client was remorseful and has already suffered significant consequences.

Kembel also told the judge she was sorry. She said she and her husband had divorced and she had almost lost her home as a result of the crime.

But McGary told the judge that prison was needed to adequately punish Kembel. "For over two years, she got the church's money; she got to live high on the hog with it," McGary said. Authorities have said she used the money to buy personal computers and household items.

Flannery said it troubled him that many people who give to the church are donating amounts they can barely afford - and they gave those donations with the belief they would go toward helping others. In fact, Flannery said, because the Mason church sends its money to a conference that channels funds to assist people worldwide, "the ripple effect of this theft goes far beyond someone who steals from a small business."

Representatives of the church attended Thursday's sentencing but declined to comment afterward.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com