Mar. 13—CHIPPEWA FALLS — A rural Chippewa Falls woman has been convicted of theft from her former employer, PESI Inc.

Mary K. Czech, 49, 15122 61st. Ave., pleaded no contest in Chippewa County Court to one count of theft in a business setting, which is a misdemeanor. A more serious, felony charge of theft of trade secrets by taking, using or transferring the secrets, was read in and dismissed. PESI Inc., which is a continuing education company, contends Czech took trade secret documents by sending them to her private email account, as well as putting data on a portable drive.

Rusk County Judge John Anderson ordered Czech to pay a $453 fine. Czech has stated she will pay restitution to the company, court records state, but the amount was not disclosed. She also must submit a DNA sample.

Czech is the wife of Chippewa Falls attorney David Czech, who also serves as president of the Chippewa Falls School Board, and was re-elected to a three-year term last April. Because of that connection, Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell recused himself of the case. So did all three judges in Chippewa County, with Judge Ben Lane writing in a court document, "it would be difficult for all three Chippewa County judges to appear impartial."

According to the criminal complaint, PESI Inc.'s executive director contacted the Eau Claire Police Department on Sept. 1, 2020, saying the company has been the victim of a theft of trade secrets.

Czech, who was an on-site business development manager, worked for PESI from July 2017 until she was laid off in June 2020. An IT firm did a forensic audit of Czech's work computer, which showed emails sent to her Hotmail account and "at least two external storage USB devices were connected to (Czech's) laptop on June 17, 2020," the criminal complaint reads.

The items copies ranged from PESI performance data on kids programs and seminars to revenue data and marketing quotes.

"PESI spent considerable time and resources to protect its trade secrets," the criminal complaint reads. "There is no way to measure the potential damages that could result from the use of those secrets. PESI could lose future business without knowing the reason for the loss."

However, nowhere in the court document does it contend that Czech released or sold the data to another party.

PESI Inc. previously filed a civil lawsuit against Czech in Eau Claire County Court. Oral arguments in that case are slated for May 26.

Full disclosure: Leader-Telegram reporter Chris Vetter was represented by David Czech in a prior legal matter.