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Scandal in a Small Town
Bank Collapse Robs Ohio Community of Savings, Sense of Trust
 Listen to Robert Siegel's report.
June 5, 2002 -- In the village of Oakwood, Ohio (population 742) and other villages of rural Paulding County, everyone knows almost everyone. And almost everyone thought they knew the local banker, Steve Miller.
On Feb. 1, 2002, federal investigators uncovered an alleged embezzlement scam that left the Oakwood Deposit Bank insolvent.
Tens of millions of dollars were unaccounted for. Steve Miller told the FBI he used his depositors' money to invest -- off the books -- in a company that runs casino boats in Florida and South Carolina. Miller is currently free on bond awaiting trial.
The draining of the bank's funds had gone on for at least a couple of years, and the auditors and bank examiners had all missed it. The bank's local stockholders lost millions. Big depositors lost what wasn't federally insured -- the limit is $100,000.
All Things Considered senior host Robert Siegel recently traveled to Oakwood to talk with residents about the impact of the scandal. He heard tales of a rural community rocked by the alleged misdeeds of one of its own.
Oakwood Mayor Bryan Ripke says there's a $370,000 deficit in the village municipal budget -- meaning needed civic repairs will not get done in the near future.
Linda Fett, the pastor of the Oakwood United Methodist Church, says her church's losses may delay some building improvements. But she's philosophical about it: "It was God's money in the first place," she tells Siegel.
Some repairs at Paulding County Hospital may be put off, too. It could have been worse: The hospital kept its capital construction fund at Oakwood Deposit, but its payroll account was safe at another bank.
The Wayne Trace School District, which oversees two local primary schools and one combined middle school and high school, also banked with Steve Miller, who was on the school board.
The state of Ohio came through with a "solvency" award that covered the district's endangered deposits.
The financial blow to Oakwood is clear -- but the larger issue of trust may never be fully resolved. "In the village where he once personified solidity and reliability, (Miller) is now a figure of resentment and mystery, a subject of gossip and prayer," Siegel says.
"He is the man who made the people of Oakwood, Ohio, wonder if they really know one another as well as they thought."
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