The Hot Springs Sentinel-Record today broke the story of the arrest of Kristi Lynn Goss, 43, of Hot Springs a former administrative assistant to the Garland County judge, for six felony counts of using a county credit card for tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.
The criminal information filed in Garland Circuit Court is an epic catalogue of expenses on the likes of personal utility bills, Razorback tickets, kids’ school lunches, jewelry, car payments, property taxes, a sequin throw pillow and pet insurance.
And speaking of pet insurance: I couldn’t help but be drawn to the portion of the affidavit for Goss’ arrest that said she had used the county credit card to purchase clothing on Amazon, including “a tuxedo for Goss’ dog, a pug, that coincided with her children attending prom during the Spring.”
Nothing more entertaining than a smush-face dog in a tuxedo. And, I figured, Facebook HAD to have memorialized this. Could be. A Facebook page for Kristi Goss of Hot Springs, with the same birthdate as the accused, included this profile photograph on her Facebook page. (It went blank shortly after I posted this.) As a smush-face dog fancier, I must note this is NOT a pug, but a bulldog. So, though I can’t be 100 percent sure this is the dog outfit in question in the criminal charge, it’s handsome enough to illustrate the point.
The list prepared for the charges details more than $346,000 in confirmed or suspected personal expenses over a period of about four years. Legislative auditors began looking into the case because of other discrepancies in handling of county accounts, including an alleged use of money from other county departments to cover credit card charges. That led to the criminal investigation. She was fired last June after almost 12 years of county employment. Her longevity, another employee said, contributed to a lack of checking of some her charging activities.
The Hot Springs Village Daily reported in July Goss’ arrest on a drug charge. That case is pending.