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Woman appears in court on embezzlement charge
Leigh Ann Zappin, 56, appears Friday, March 2, 2013, in Cabell Circuit Court at a hearing related to the embezzlement of more than $20,000 from the Huntington Area Food Bank.
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HUNTINGTON -- The former director of a local food bank made her first court appearance since being arraigned on a charge that she embezzled more than $20,000 from the agency.
Leigh Ann Zappin, 56, appeared Friday with her attorney, Joe Farrell. He sought additional time to meet with the case's lead prosecutor.
Zappin will return to court April 1. Cabell Circuit Judge Alfred Ferguson instructed the prosecution, if it intended to resolve the case without trial, to extend a plea offer in writing before that hearing.
An indictment charges her with embezzling $23,700 from the Huntington Area Food Bank between Jan. 22, 2012, and Sept. 21, 2012, when Zappin served as the agency's executive director. She also faces eight related counts each of forgery and uttering.
Zappin started at the food bank as part of community service for a prior embezzlement conviction, which was one of two prior judgments that she took money from an employer.
Zappin is on home confinement pending trial, after her husband posted a $50,000 cash bond to secure her release from jail.
Follow Curtis Johnson via Twitter @curtisjohnsonHD and http://facebook.com/curtisjohnsonHD.
