Pierre woman gets prison for stealing Girl Scout cookie proceeds

PIERRE (AP) — A South Dakota woman has been sentenced to prison for stealing more than $37,000 in proceeds from Girl Scout cookies.

The media reports that 47-year-old Bonnie Gallagher, of Pierre, apologized to the court Tuesday and said she started stealing after getting a divorce.

Gallagher pleaded guilty in January to one count of grand theft.

Prosecutors say the money was taken over a five-year period between October 2007 and August 2012, when Gallagher had been in charge of handling money from cookie sales.

Judge John Brown noted that Gallagher received a suspended sentence in 1996 for stealing money from a Pierre business and wondered how she put herself "into this position twice."

Brown sentenced Gallagher to 30 months in prison and ordered her to pay back the money.

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