Newspaper Accountant Charged With Theft

Lisa Grass, 44, is accused of embezzling an unspecified sum during about four years. She was the paper's senior accountant for five years, until January 2004.

An indictment handed up Thursday by a Merrimack County grand jury alleges that Grass, of Boscawen, issued and cashed checks from the Monitor's bank account in her own name. She is charged with theft by unauthorized taking, a felony punishable by 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison.

Grass' lawyer, Mark Sisti, declined to comment on the allegation itself, which dates from 2004, but said there are procedural issues.

"It's an unusual situation that charges would be brought in such a fashion so late in the game after this case, we believe, has been reviewed and rejected by the U.S. Attorney's office," he said.

Monitor officials declined to say how much money Grass is accused of taking.

"It's obviously a significant amount of money. But the case is still ongoing, and I can't put a dollar amount on it," said Tom Brown, president of Concord-based Newspapers of New England, the Monitor's parent company.

Brown and Merrimack County Attorney Dan St. Hilaire also declined to discuss details of the alleged theft. Brown said the newspaper has tightened its accounting controls.

Newspapers of New England publishes seven weekly and daily newspapers that circulate in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.