WAPAKONETA — Christine Steinke, the former utility clerk for the city of Wapakoneta, on Wednesday waived her constitutional right to a speedy trial during a brief appearance in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court.
A final pre-trial in Steinke’s case was scheduled for Feb. 22, while a jury trial is slated to begin May 15.
Steinke was indicted in December on 13 third-degree felony counts of tampering with records and two second-degree felony counts of theft in office.
The charges stem from a year-long investigation conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation related to discrepancies found by the Wapakoneta Utilities Department after a software upgrade.
The investigation revealed that Steinke, during her tenure as a utility clerk from 2009 to 2021, allegedly took portions of customer payments to the utilities department for her own use.
