Two area embezzlement cases were in the news last week with the former Benton Harbor School superintendent being convicted of embezzlement and misappropriating funds and the former Southeast Berrien County Landfill general manager arraigned on embezzlement charges.

Former Benton Harbor Superintendent Leonard Seawood was found guilty of embezzlement and misappropriating school district funds by a Berrien County Trial Court jury late last week. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Jan. 29 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

A jury of six men and six women found Seawood guilty of one count of embezzlement $20,000 to $50,000, one count of obtaining money by false pretenses $20,000 to $50,000 and three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses $1,000 to $20,000. The trial lasted four days.

Seawood was the Benton Harbor superintendent from July 2010 to October 2015. Investigators hired by the school district uncovered information that he got cash payouts for more than the allowed number of vacation days in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Michigan State Police then followed up with a criminal investigation.

Meanwhile, the questions raised over the summer by the sudden terminations of Southeast Berrien County Landfill General Manager Clyde David “Sonny” Fuller III and another landfill employee, Terry Snow, were answered in part last week with Fuller and Snow being arraigned on embezzlement related charges.

Fuller, 46, of Able Road in Buchanan, was charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and embezzlement over $100,000 which are both felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. His bond was set at $20,000 personal recognizance.

Snow, 54, of Pipestone Road in Eau Claire, was charged with aiding and abetting a criminal enterprise and embezzlement over $100,000, both felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. His bond was set at $10,000 10 percent.

Both were scheduled to be in court this week in St. Joseph for pre-exam conferences and next week on Dec. 27 for preliminary hearings.

Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic reported that an investigation conducted by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department uncovered information that Fuller and Snow allegedly set up a company and funneled money to it from the landfill. Those payments totaled nearly $250,000 between December 2016 and June 2017.

Investigators found that the company called GT&S Enterprises is owned by Snow’s mother, Goldie Snow. Payments from the landfill to the company coincided with transfers to bank accounts owned by Fuller and Terry Snow. Fuller authorized the payments to GT&S on behalf of the landfill although the company provided no services to the landfill.

The Southeast Berrien County Landfill is owned by five municipalities: the cities of Buchanan and Niles and the townships of Bertrand, Buchanan and Niles. Although municipally owned, the landfill is self-supporting and does not receive public funding.

Landfill authority members were tight-lipped in July when Fuller and Snow were terminated, not commenting on alleged financial improprieties. They did say at the time that internal and external investigations were being conducted.

Fuller had been the general manager at the landfill since mid-2011. His tenure was not without controversy over the years with board members and employees sometimes questioning his actions. He had, however, continued to have the support of most board members until mid-2017.

Fuller was also a reserve police officer for the Buchanan Police Department and was terminated from that position over the summer when questions arose about problems at the landfill.

Three landfill authority members, Dave Kuhn, Brad Reitz and Dave Zelmer, took over Fuller’s duties on an interim basis to serve as interim managers. Authority members appointed Tyler Ganus as the new general manager earlier this fall. He has been with the landfill for five years, most recently as the environmental manager.