Waltz jailed for probation violations

Meg Waltz

Repeated probation violations have landed Margaret "Meg" Waltz in jail again.

Waltz, 44, of Spirit Lake was arrested for the violations on June 13, just over a month after being arrested for second degree theft. She remains in jail with a cash only bond of $10,000.

According to the court file, the Department of Correctional Services filed a report of probation violation in mid-June. Assistant Dickinson County Attorney Jon Martin has requested that her probation be revoked and the original prison sentence be imposed.

A hearing originally scheduled for this week has been continued to 11 a.m. Monday, July 13 because Waltz's attorney James Clarity was unavailable on June 29.

The terms of her probation required Waltz to obtain a full time job and begin paying restitution. She was also to take out a life insurance policy in the amount of $500,000, naming the Department of Human Services as the beneficiary.

According to the probation violation report, Waltz has not provided sufficient proof that she has taken out a life insurance policy and has never filed a wage assessment. She has also failed to make consistent payments on her restitution and is two months behind on probation supervision payments. The court record also shows that on Nov. 10, 2009, a check she issued for $25 for a probation supervision payment came back due to insufficient funds. She then paid the department and a $10 insufficient fund fee.

Waltz was sentenced in October 2008 to five years probation on charges of first degree theft. According to court documents, Waltz misappropriated and mismanaged funds from the Before and After School Services program (BASS), a nonprofit organization that provided child care services at local schools. Her restitution is set at $401,743.37, and officials say Waltz spent BASS funds of $155,627 on misappropriated payroll, $30,000 on a Chevy Avalanche, $78,313 on credit card payments, $19,400 on a vacation for herself and family members, and $56,026 in payments to her family.

In addition to the probation violation charges, Waltz is also scheduled for a court appearance this month for second degree theft. Court documents show Waltz wrote a bad check for $2,500 to the Cartwright Brothers in early May. A preliminary hearing for that charge is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, July 6 at the Dickinson County Courthouse.