Woman gets probation in church embezzlement

MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) -- A 77-year-old woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for taking money from a Detroit-area church and has been ordered to repay $50,000. Helen Gvozdich of Roseville was sentenced Tuesday in a Mount Clemens courtroom, avoiding the possibility of up to two years behind bars. She earlier pleaded guilty to embezzlement in an agreement with prosecutors. Court records say a judge also ordered her to perform community service. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports Gvozdich said afterward: "None of this is true." She didn't elaborate. Authorities said that in 2008-2009 Gvozdich took money from St. Stevan Decanski Serbian Orthodox Church in Warren. Defense lawyer E. Philip Adamaszek says his client failed to obtain receipts when she paid funds to church members who bought things for the church. Published: Thu, Nov 22, 2012