Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 25/00) - The former manager of a Yellowknives Dene public housing society has been charged with theft.

Lena Cleary, 40, is a resident of Dettah and served as manager of the Done Naawo Society for at least six years, between 1990 and 1996.

The society folded in 1996.

"It was terminated shortly after this incident," explained Yellowknives Dene band manager David Kravitz.

"The housing corporation now has a partnership directly with the Yellowknives Dene."

The NWT Housing Corporation, which funded the society, requested an audit when it noticed irregularities from its own yearly review. The GNWT's audit branch carried out the second audit of the society's books.

The housing authority also received a tip from the band, according to a Housing Corporation statement.

The corporation funded the Done Naawo Society with millions of dollars over the years Cleary managed it.

During the society's final year in operation, the corporation provided more than $651,000 to the society when it managed 56 public housing units in Dettah and N'dilo for low-income families.

The total amount of money unaccounted for by the housing corporation was less than $50,000, according to the corporation.

Cleary has been charged with 10 offenses including breach of trust, theft over $5,000 and theft under $5,000 as well as two counts of fraud and five counts of acting on a forged document.

Those charges are alleged to have taken place between April 1990 and March 1996.

Cleary will appear in territorial court on Dec. 12.