Man gets jail for fake newspaper obituary

updated 8:53 p.m. ET Sept. 21, 2006

WATERLOO, Iowa - A northeast Iowa man who filed a fake obituary with a newspaper is headed to jail. James Snyder of Stout was accused of submitting the obituary for his girlfriend's 17-year-old son to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier last December to get out of work.

The obituary said the teen died after a lengthy illness.

Snyder was charged with tampering with records. On Monday, he entered an Alford plea, and was sentenced to a year in jail — suspended to seven days.

Under an Alford plea, he admits no guilt, but agrees prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

The teen's mother, Mary Jo Elizabeth, was charged with accessory after the fact. She was sentenced in June to 30 days in jail, which was suspended to a year's probation.

The scam was discovered when people who knew the teen saw him at Waterloo restaurant and called authorities.

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