With Friends Like This....

What I want to know:  How much does the Friends of the Chicopee Public Library take in annually?

Woman repaying library money. (Springfield Republican, 5/11/2011)

Excerpt:  The former treasurer of the Chicopee Friends of the Public Library, who pleaded guilty to stealing $115,000 from the charity, has paid back about half of the money she took.

Friends President John L. Michon said he received a check for $71,000 from Elizabeth Wilk's lawyers on Thursday.

"We want the people to know we are doing everything we can do to restore those funds," Michon said.

In March, Wilk, 57, pleaded guilty to siphoning the money from the Friends of the Library accounts by using her positions as vice president of mortgage lending for Chicopee Savings Bank and treasurer of the charity. She no longer holds either position.

The money was donated to the Friends of the Public Library to be used to provide children's programming and to purchase equipment which cannot be financed in the regular budget, Michon said.

The thefts took place between Dec. 22, 2007, and Sept. 16, 2010. Her lawyer said Wilk has a gambling addiction and spent the money at casinos and to buy scratch tickets.

With friends like these......