Beth Bentley - Week 125 - still missing

Beth Bentley, missing since May 23, 2010, has now been gone 125 weeks. Somebody knows what happened. Some people know what happened. When will the truth come out?

An unrelated article in this morning's Northwest Herald attracted my attention. On Page A3, under State Briefs, was a short article about a Vernon Hills attorney who has been accused of using clients' credit cards and then placing the credit card debt in the clients' bankruptcy filings.

Apparently, an employee was a witness and prosecutors followed a trail of text messages between the attorney and his employee to help build their case.

Early in the weeks following Beth's disappearance, she was described on Facebook as a "serial texter". Before someone scrubbed her Facebook account, there were many messages and comments and many entries in Farmville. Beth had been the office manager in her husband's law office and would have been in control of money coming into the office and of many disbursements. Her friend and traveling companion, Jenn Wyatt, worked in the office, and one would think that Wyatt had been compensated for working there.

In a California child-support case that has been the subject of hearings in McHenry County Circuit Court, any earnings by Wyatt, whether as an employee (IRS Form W-2) or in-kind or in cash (IRS Form 1099), should have been revealed to the judge. Beth, as office manager, would have known about them and would have documented them as tax-deductible expenses of the law practice.

When Beth bought a Volvo for Jenn to drive, was that an office transaction that resulted in taxable income to Jenn for the use of the car? In whose name was the Volvo purchased? What funds paid for it? When it was sold, who signed the title?

If Beth paid Jenn's rent on the house at 749 Tara Drive, Woodstock, was that taxable income to Jenn in exchange for her working in the office? Or did Beth earn the money, pay tax on it and then give the money to Jenn as a gift? For example, by writing a check each month to the landlord for the rent. The property owner was in California. Was there a local real estate agent who handled the rental?

Have police investigators attempted to follow the trail of money through Beth Bentley's desk at the office? If she handled income that came into the practice from clients with bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings, were all receipts duly recorded in full in the firm's financial ledger? Were there financial entries when new cases were opened or when billable activities occurred in existing cases? Was there a cash box or safe in the office for keeping track of checks and cash coming in? Were receipts issued for all payments to the office, especially if any were paid in cash? If clients paid in cash, where was the cash put?

Was there a petty cash box in the office for such small expenditures as Postage Due on mail or for quick trips to an office-supply store for small items? Every other business expenditure should have been paid by check or credit card, where a record would be available for income tax purposes.

Early reports were that no office money was unaccounted for. If Beth planned to disappear, from what source(s) could she have assembled money with which to run away?

If this is really not a missing person case, how much longer will it be before a new, exhaustive investigation begins?