Emma Maxwell, who was arrested in January 2012 for stealing more than $143,000 from a church, was sentenced to state prison last month.
Maxwell was sentenced to one and two-thirds to five years in state prison in Schoharie County Court, reported county District Attorney James Sacket.
Maxwell, 54, of Blenheim was the former treasurer of the Breakabeen-North Blenheim Presbyterian Church before she was arrested on charges of second-degree grand larceny.
The cap on the sentence was two to six years in state prison.
Maxwell paid back $2,000 of the stolen funds and made a pledge to pay back another $10,000, DA Sacket said.
Though the court ordered a restitution of the remaining $141,029, not much more is expected, he added.
The district attorney pushed for substantial jail time.
One of the more frustrating aspects of his job is to try to collect restitution from those convicted in thefts, DA Sacket explained.
"There needs to be a message sent to these people."
Maxwell pled guilty to charges of second-degree grand larceny on June 20, 2012. She was originally scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2012.
In other court action, DA Sacket reported that Joseph Panetta, 41, of Central Bridge was sentenced to five years felony probation and drug court on April 17.
Panetta had pled guilty to charges of third-degree burglary of a church house in Central Bridge.
The case, DA Sacket noted, was solved through DNA found on a cigarette.