SPRING GLEN, NY — Patricia Davis-Venuti of Spring Glen was found not guilty by a jury on August 14, of felony charges of stealing from a landscaping company to which she provided bookkeeping services for several months.

Davis-Venuti, who was arrested in February 2014, told The River Reporter that her case did not go to trial until some 18 months later. She said the Judge Joel Welsh kept the trial in his court for 20 months before allowing it to go to a jury, and that once the not-guilty verdict was announced, he sealed the court records.

She added that there were many irregularities to the case, including the fact that the employer was collecting sales tax but not paying that tax to the state, and was paying some employees in cash. Further, she said, during the trial, the prosecution declined to produce the investigator to answer questions.