Staff report

Vienna’s former fiscal officer will continue serving her prison sentence after the Ohio 11th District Court of Appeals rejected her appeal.

Linda McCullough, who served as Vienna’s fiscal officer from 2019 to early 2024, is serving eight years in prison at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville following Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Westcott’s sentence on seven counts of tampering with records and two counts of theft in office.

McCullough’s sentencing came a month after her trial was supposed to begin. She instead pleaded guilty to all 10 charges against her, which included two counts of theft in office, one count of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of tampering with records.

The charges stemmed from indictments in October 2024 and February of 2025, which accused McCullough of using her elected position to pay personal credit card bills, as well as individual and private business expenses at several stores.

The appeal was heard in late February, months after it was filed on her behalf by her attorney, who cited one assignment of error — that the trial court failed to make findings for imposing consecutive sentences under state law.

The three theft in office charges were merged and the state elected to prosecute on the first one. The tampering with records charges, which made up counts four through 10, did not merge, as the offenses were committed with separate motivations to conceal her actions, which led to the consecutive sentences.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow argued for the state, saying the court made the necessary findings, and quoted a previous Supreme Court decision stating an appellate court must have a firm belief of conviction to support the findings before disturbing consecutive sentences.

After a review of the sentencing hearing and judgment of sentence, appellate judges found the trial court had made all the findings required by state law to impose consecutive sentences, according to 11th District Judge Matt Lynch.

McCullough’s claim was found to be without merit.

McCullough was also expected to pay court costs and make restitution to both the township as part of her sentencing, at $120,371, and the state auditor’s office, to which she owes $11,746.

The township has received $28,656 — primarily from two Ohio Public Employees Retirement System payments on Sept. 3 and Oct. 6, according to court records.

Court records show March 5 and March 26 checks of $29 and $209, respectively, as the only restitution payments received in 2026.

At her sentencing, Rice said the township’s fiscal emergency was not solely created by McCullough’s actions, but her theft contributed to their issues, yet she hadn’t taken responsibility for her fraudulent actions.

She said that when McCullough met with investigators for her pre-sentencing investigation, she suggested that her payment of personal credit cards with township funds was an accidental click.

“When realizing that investigators didn’t buy her accident explanation, Ms. McCullough stated, ‘How do we make this go away?” Rice said.

Rice said McCullough referred to her spending as “emotional spending”, explaining to investigators that she overspent because people around her were overspending.

“Leaders may have overspent in the efforts they made to provide improved services to the township, such as a full-time ambulance service, but that in no way justifies Ms. McCullough utilizing township funds to pay her multiple personal credit cards and her father’s credit cards,” Rice said. “These offenses were not motivated by anything other than Ms. McCullough’s greed. This court has seen a lot of desperate people who commit crimes just to survive; that is not the case here.”