Keil given probation for taking $50k from historical society

77-year-old blames gambling addiction

Stealing thousands of dollars from the Onalaska Historical Society canceled out every good thing Ward Keil did for that group.

Keil says that’s one of the criticisms he’s heard since being arrested for embezzlement this year.

On Wednesday, the 77-year-old was given five years probation for taking more than $50,000 from the society, and he blamed a gambling addiction for his crime.

Judge Elliott Levine says Keil’s probation could be reduced to three years, if he’s able to repay $35,000 to the historical society in that time.

He’ll also be on electronic monitoring for six months, for disobeying a court order to stay away from the society’s office – where he went to complain that he wasn’t receiving his newsletter in the mail.