By Shelly Baskin
Paducah, KY – Paducah Police arrested Convention Center Director John Patrick Kerr last night for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 in convention center funds. His accomplice Susan Wilson was also arrested. Convention Center Board Chairman Jim Sigler says Kerr revealed details of the embezzlement during an investigative meeting Sunday with the board. He says,
"Mr. Kerr admitted that the scheme had been perpetrated over the course of several months in conjunction with Susan Wilson who posed as a vendor, submitted fictitious invoices, and was paid by Mr. Kerr with Convention Center Corporation funds."
He says Wilson gave Kerr a "cash kickback" for the money received from the invoices. Sigler says the scheme took place over the course of a year or more, and was discovered by their bank when they noticed a series of suspicious payments. He says the Convention Center board is reviewing their policies to find out how the theft was able to take place. Sigler says Steve Dolittle will serve as interim Executive Director and says that events at the center will continue as scheduled. He says the city will pursue all avenues to get the money back.
Sigler's press conference audio comes from WKYX in Paducah.