Hernando: Police reports

BROOKSVILLE -- A county clerk in charge of marriage licenses was fired this week after a police investigation began into whether she falsified documents. The Brooksville Police Department is investigating the case.

Pauline Schaefer of 9276 Jena Road was fired Monday because she falsified a court document to indicate a divorce last June that did not occur, said Circuit Court Clerk Karen Nicolai in a letter to Schaefer. Nicolai also said Schaefer used a false document to get a marriage license in New York and married, "which resulted in bigamy."

Nicolai said she couldn't comment on the ongoing investigation, which includes Brooksville police and authorities in Monticello, N.Y., who began investigating the case.

"She's been a good employee," Nicolai said. "It's been sad and emotional for all of us." A woman who answered Schaefer's phone Wednesday said Schaefer was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Nicolai said she did not know where the document was altered, but it was an abuse of the clerk's position, regardless of geography.

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