Judge scolds city and its thief

An ex-worker pleads guilty to stealing $259,237 from St. Petersburg after blaming lax supervision.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 18, 2000

LARGO -- Erroyl C. Bing blames the city of St. Petersburg for unwittingly letting him steal as much money as he did from it -- $259,237.

The former city warehouse manager blames drugs and alcohol for leading him to the temptation of that easy theft, which his lawyers say better auditing safeguards could have prevented.

But a judge said Bing, 45, has no one to blame but himself. The city's big mistake, the judge said, was in hiring Bing at all.

A Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge Monday sentenced Bing to three years in state prison, to be followed by five years' probation, after he pleaded guilty to three felony grand theft charges for thefts during a two-year period ending in April 1999.

Under state sentencing guidelines, Bing faced anywhere from two to 15 years in prison.

Judge Dee Anna Farnell said, "I feel very sorry for the city of St. Petersburg being put in this position. I feel it's quite embarrassing ... I also feel sorry, not for you, Mr. Bing, but for your family."

Farnell also ordered Bing to pay $10,000 in restitution. That amount represents the deductible the city paid on insurance that covered the theft.

Over prosecutors' objection, the judge did not order a greater restitution amount because the $10,000 was the city's only loss, aside from investigative costs. Prosecutors argued insurance companies suffered a loss.

Farnell suggested the city or its insurance carriers could file a civil theft suit against Bing, who must surrender himself at the Pinellas County Jail by Aug. 21.

The judge offered to sentence Bing to the three years in exchange for a guilty plea to avoid a trial. Prosecutors sought at least five years in prison.

Defense attorney Anthony Battaglia asked Farnell to give Bing the shortest sentence within state guidelines, saying some of the responsibility for the theft rests with the city.

"The city could have prevented this crime early on," Battaglia said. "We don't use that as an excuse. But if someone sits idly by and allows someone to commit criminal acts when they could have used any judgment to reduce their losses, then they have to accept some of the responsibility."

Prosecutor Fred Schaub said, "That's like saying a girl deserves to be raped because of the way she dressed."

Schaub also disputed Bing's claim that he was out of his mind, caught in a $400-a-day cocaine habit. He said that Bing was a coach who sat on the bench of Largo High School basketball games during the time he was stealing money.

"Somebody on a $400-a-day cocaine habit probably isn't even going to make it to the gymnasium," the prosecutor said.

Prosecutors say that Bing set up a phony corporation, A.B. Specialty Shops, to receive payment for supplies the company was supposedly selling to the city. But the city never received anything it paid for, from plumbing supplies to a picnic table.

Both prosecutors and Bing's attorneys agree city supervision could have been much better. But prosecutors say Bing made the decision to steal, violating a public trust.

"He took a lot of money from the city of St. Petersburg and its citizens and he never intended to pay it back," Schaub said.

Noting that Bing lied on his resume about his education and, unknown to the city, had served prison time in the 1980s for theft, Judge Farnell said the city's real error wasn't related to the thefts.

"Quite frankly, the city of St. Petersburg should never have hired you," she said.

Bing, whose wife, Angelean Bing, is the principal of Fairmount Park Elementary in St. Petersburg, offered an apology to the court.

"I am indeed sorry for what I did," he said. "Life is about choices and consequences ... The bottom line is that I was wrong."

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