Deuel County Treasurer Arrested For Stealing Over $18,000 By Using County Credit Card -UPDATED

     A longtime elected official in the extreme southeastern Panhandle has been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $18,000. 

      59-year old Deuel County Treasurer Polly Olson was arrested without incident Tuesday, not long after an arrest warrant had been issued for theft by unlawful taking. 

     Olson, who has been treasurer for more than 2 decades, was lodged in the Garden County Jail in Oshkosh.

     Nebraska State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas says the State Patrol began an investigation in December on a referral by the state Attorney General’s office.

      Investigators determined that Olson had used an official Deuel County credit card to buy more than $18,000 in personal items from multiple retailers over the past 3 years. 

    An arrest affidavit lists purchases from Claire’s, Hobby Lobby, Amazon and Off Broadway Shoes as well as purchases of groceries, toys, and cat food.

      Olson wrote a check to the county in May of last year for almost $2,500 as reimbursement for using the county credit card for personal items, but the investigation found about $18,599 in unreimbursed purchases.