Getting her car fixed with federal trail-maintenance money gave prosecutors a hint she wasn’t operating on all cylinders.
They ended up charging Melanie Luce with embezzling $91,000 from the White Mountains Trail Collective, of which she was executive director.
Luce, 48, has entered into a plea agreement calling for her to serve two years in prison and pay $193,724 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Cops say she opened a credit card in 2021 without the approval of the non-profit’s board to start a business and pay for car repairs.
The collective’s work includes major refurbishing of Crawford Path.
Luce is on her second stint as a creeping klepto.
She was convicted in 2012 of four counts of theft and misuse of a credit card after stealing $185,000 from a medical practice in Plymouth, New Hampshire, where she worked as an office manager.
Luce was sentenced in that case to a year in jail and restitution.
