Former director of Feed The Children in Nashville pleads guilty to theft

Monday, March 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The former executive director of the Feed The Children branch office in Nashville pleaded guilty Monday to stealing donated charity items but will serve no jail time under a plea agreement.

Steve Highfill was sentenced to two years of probation, but his guilty plea and criminal record may be expunged if he completes his probation successfully.

Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn also ordered Highfill to pay the Oklahoma City-based charity $1,000 in restitution and perform 96 hours of public service work.

Feed The Children Vice President Steve Whetstone said he is satisfied with the sentence. "We're just glad that this whole situation is over," he said Monday. "We can go back to concentrating on what we do best --feeding hungry children."

The charity's Nashville warehouse was closed and all 14 employees were fired in June after WTVF-TV in Nashville aired a report it said showed administrative employees and their relatives hauling donated goods from the warehouse to their cars. Some used dollies to carry several boxes at a time.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents raided the charity's Nashville office and the homes of a half-dozen employees. They retrieved boxes and bags of brand-name clothing -- some with the tags still on -- shoes, videos, blankets, food and other goods.

The warehouse reopened in July with a new staff and executive director, Don Herbert.

Highfill's attorney, Charles Ray, said Highfill simply was trying to provide additional compensation for employees. "Steve always has had the interest of the charity in the foremost of his thoughts," Ray said. "The employees weren't compensated in any great amount. And these items that he allowed them to take away were given to the charity and in most cases weren't items that other people or the recipients of the charity had any interest in."

District Attorney Torry Johnson said it is unlikely that charges will be filed against other accused employees. He said it is nearly impossible to estimate the value of the stolen items since some may have been perishable or defective and of limited use to the charity.

"While the employees under Mr. Highfill were wrong in taking donated goods, I do not believe anything can be gained from prosecuting those individuals who believed they were acting with the approval of their boss," he said, noting that the practice occurred only in the Nashville warehouse.

Feed The Children, a worldwide relief organization founded in 1979, opened its Nashville warehouse in October 1996. The warehouse supplies goods for more than 200 organizations in the Eastern United States.

"We're glad it's over," Herbert said. "We just want to get on with the business of helping others."