Ex-Bookkeeper Who Stole $400,000 Gets 4 Years

A 58-year-old Northridge woman found guilty of embezzling more than $400,000 from a Van Nuys restaurant-supply company was sentenced to four years in state prison Friday.

Irene Dell Fine was sentenced by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Robert M. Letteau after she was convicted by a jury in August of one count of grand theft for stealing the money from Star Restaurant Supply Co. from January, 1978, to July, 1982, while she worked as the company’s bookkeeper.

Fine had been responsible for the company’s ledgers, daily journals and bank deposits, according to a probation report prepared before sentencing. Owner Joe Birken discovered a discrepancy in bookkeeping procedures after Fine quit her job, the report said.

Fine, who earned $2,500 a month for working three days a week at the company, contended during the trial that she stole only $40,000, which she intended to pay back, according to the report.

She said that the first time she stole, she took $5,000 because she needed a new engine for her 1970 Mercedes-Benz, the report said. After that, she said, she “periodically” stole money but planned to “make some sort of restitution.”

She characterized the supply company as having an “atmosphere of dishonesty” and denied that she stole money “on a daily basis” as her employer alleged. She maintained that accounting records used as evidence against her in the trial were tampered with and “manufactured,” the report said.

She testified that she took money because she was in a financial bind.

Since leaving Star Restaurant Supply Co., Fine has been self-employed as a computer systems analyst.