A lack of financial oversight by Galveston Beach Patrol allowed former employee Angela Barton to steal over $50,000 from nonprofit funds, leading to her arrest.
There are new details about the theft of more than $50,000 from accounts that were being watched over by Galveston's Beach Patrol and the Park Board of Trustees. These details paint a disturbing picture of bad money management. The money that was raised to help the Galveston Lifeguarding Association, which gives grants and other financial help to families of drowning victims, wasn't really checked.
The incident got public when it was shown that 52-year-old Angela Barton, a former beach patrol worker, reported a stolen debit card in December but was still allowed to use the nonprofit's accounts. Barton said a family member had taken the card and spent $6,000 before committing suicide. The story was believed without being checked by patrol officials. Since nothing was done to stop the card, Barton was able to steal a lot more money.
Police records show that Barton's theft got worse over a few months, reducing the nonprofit's funds from $59,000 to just $56 by April 2024. She was caught in Oklahoma in September and then sent back to Galveston to be put on trial for theft and credit card abuse. She is still in jail there on $265,000 bonds.
The fact that nothing was done to protect the funds or look into Barton's claims until May, long after a lot of damage had already been done, raises serious questions about the Beach Patrol and Park Board's ability to keep an eye on things.
