BY BILL McKELWAY

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Henrico County police are investigating the former office manager of a church in relation to missing funds. The ex-employee was convicted of embezzlement less than five years ago.

A spokesman for Shady Grove United Methodist Church in western Henrico confirms that the church has turned over information about missing funds to police and that church member Lisa H. Pauley, 48, left her position as office manager in February.

Church spokesman Jackson E. Reasor said the sum involved does not exceed $5,000. Pauley has repaid the lost funds, Reasor said.

He acknowledged that a background check of Pauley was not done.

"It's our usual policy to do a police background check, but in this case the person had been at the job for several months and was a member of the church for some time," he said. "Everything seemed to be going well."

Court records show that Pauley pleaded guilty in December 2003 to embezzling funds from Summit Realty Group in Henrico and was given a four-year suspended sentence. She was ordered to pay restitution of $4,900.

She was placed on supervised probation for 10 years and ordered to abstain from drugs or narcotics not prescribed by a physician.

Reason said Pauley did not have access to funds associated directly with the church. Instead, he said, Pauley helped oversee a popular arts program in which participants paid fees. She had control over checks paid to workers and teachers.

On the church's Web site, Pauley is described as having "extensive experience in the areas of church administration, financial advisement and staff management." She is described as a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College who "brings top-notch expertise in accounting and communications."

Pauley could not be reached for comment.

Contact Bill McKelway at bmckelway@timesdispatch.com