Former Eau Claire bank employee enters plea in embezzlement case

A former bank employee, accused of embezzling around $22,000 from his employer, has reached a plea agreement.Kenneth Hamberger of Green Bay, worked at the Citizens Community Bank in Eau Claire for 15 years. He was responsible for preparing bills on cars, homes and other property the bank financed or repossessed.Hamberger told officers he would pocket some of the money for himself from transactions, and use it on his own expenses, such as child support. He also said he has a drinking problem and was, "...probably drunk most of the time he was at work."Authorities say he has repaid most of the money he embezzled, before entering a plea deal on Monday. He pleaded guilty to felony theft from a financial institution and two misdemeanor theft charges. Hamberger will serve 75 days in jail for the two misdemeanors. For the felony charge, a deferred prosecution was ruled, which means the charge will be dropped if he completes orders from the court for 1.5 years. Besides paying the money back, the agreement also requires Hamberger to complete 120 hours of community service.