Most employees handling money for businesses and government aren't crooks. In most cases, those employees take their responsibilities seriously and are concerned about every dollar of their employer's money.

Misspend a dollar of one's own money and most times it would be no big thing. However, a shortage of money that belongs to one's employer — government or private business — is a different story. A shortage not only reflects negatively on job performance and competence, but also raises questions about honesty.

It's good policy both in business and in government that more than one person reviews payroll disbursements, paying of invoices, depositing or withdrawing money, and any other transactions involving incoming or outgoing funds.

Honesty isn't the only issue. The possibilities for honest mistakes are many — mistakes that can be averted or corrected quickly by that second set of eyes.

The past two weeks have provided four examples of how closer scrutiny of money handling could have avoided criminal cases currently before the county's court system, or at least lessened the scope of the crimes.

All businesses and units of government should learn the lessons from those cases.

It was on June 24 that Butler Eagle readers received the front-page news that a bookkeeper for Kriley's Sales and Service in Penn Township had been charged with stealing more than $87,000 from her employer.

Debra Anne Benninger, 49, of Jefferson Township is charged with 81 counts each of forgery, theft and theft by deception. She allegedly wrote business checks to herself and used checks to pay off personal credit card bills.

Benninger, who had worked for Kriley's for about 10 years before resigning without notice, allegedly took the money between April 2005 and February of this year.

Two days after the Benninger article was printed, "Woman 'wins' theft charges in lotto plot" topped the Eagle front page. The article reported Sarah Lynn Jones' alleged pocketing of more than $10,000 in lottery ticket sales over a four-month period while working at Good Guyz on Whitestown Road.

Jones, 18, of Lyndora, was free on her own recognizance while awaiting further action on charges including felony counts of theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

The Kriley and Good Guyz reports were followed on June 28 by the acticle "Lottery theft charges filed." Robin Diane Taylor, 49, of Oakland Township is accused of stealing state lottery tickets from the Chicora convenience store Rummy Mart, where she worked, between May 28 and June 2 and cashing them in for thousands of dollars.

The store's owner estimated that Taylor had taken at least $5,000 from the business. She apparently fell victim to the store's security cameras, which reportedly recorded her taking tickets and cashing them in.

Taylor faces charges of theft and receiving stolen property.

Finally, it was reported on the front page of the Eagle's July 3 edition that a former Muddy Creek Township secretary — Dixie Lynn Christy, 39, of Cherry Township — had been charged with stealing more than $108,000 from the township between March 17, 2005, and Oct. 15, 2008.

She faces 209 felony counts including forgery, access device fraud, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.

A hearing for Christy that had been scheduled for Tuesday was postponed until July 28 to allow her more time to find a lawyer. She is free on $15,000 bail.

Last year, state police charged a former Muddy Creek earned-income tax collector, Shirl Mawhinney, with writing a check for $2,898 on Muddy Creek's account to herself in 2006 and depositing the check into her husband's account. She is awaiting trial on charges of theft and receiving stolen property.

A common thread in all of these cases is that the thefts might never have happened if there had been better oversight in place — and if the employees were aware of a second set of eyes ensuring that financial matters were handled properly.

In regard to Christy's case, Dale Kerr, chairman of the township's board of supervisors, has admitted his shoddy oversight of his municipality's financial matters. He acknowledged that he might have signed blank checks that Christy gave him. The police affidavit said "Kerr indicated that he trusted Christy as an employee and that he did not always examine each check he signed."

Meanwhile, at Kriley's, Benninger had been seen as a loyal employee. The business' owners reportedly were dumbfounded by having been victimized by someone in whom they had placed so much trust in handling their financial books.

Closer day-to-day financial scrutiny also could have worked to the advantage of Good Guyz and the Rummy Mart in identifying their problems more quickly.

Harrisburg's Bonusgate scandal is attracting much attention, but the four local cases that broke during the past two weeks are examples of what can happen close to home when financial safeguards are relaxed or nonexistent.

Businesses and governmental entities need to re-examine what they are doing — and what they are not doing — to ensure that their financial matters are being handled correctly.