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Post by marjar on Mar 15, 2011 15:25:38 GMT -5
Feds: Nun pleads guilty to embezzling $850,000 A Catholic nun pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling $850,000 from a college in the New York City suburbs, the U.S. Southern District Attorney's Office announced in a press release. Sister Marie E. Thornton, a 63 year-old nun, embezzled over $850,000 from Iona College starting in 1999, while functioning as its vice president of finance, the statement said. "This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "Marie Thornton was entrusted with the financial well-being of Iona College, but instead, she abused her access to cook the books and line her own pockets." According to the statement from U.S. attorney, Thornton diverted funds for personal use by submitting false vendor invoices and personal expense bills to be reimbursed by the school. religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/11/feds-nun-pleads-guilty-to-embezzling-850000/ |
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Post by marjar on Mar 15, 2011 15:25:54 GMT -5
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 15, 2011 15:29:49 GMT -5
You have no idea how devastating this sort of news is to the alumni and reputation of the school.
I heard and read news reports of embezzling that took place at the private high school I went to in Brooklyn. It was very disheartening.
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workpublic
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Catch and release please
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Post by workpublic on Mar 15, 2011 15:34:54 GMT -5
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steff
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Post by steff on Mar 15, 2011 15:36:09 GMT -5
Guess that vow of poverty didn't mean a whole lot to her.
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Post by marjar on Mar 15, 2011 15:38:13 GMT -5
People do bad things and nuns are just as susceptible to the frailties of being human as the rest of us. I'd rather we deal with this than the abuse by priests.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 15, 2011 15:39:15 GMT -5
Guess that vow of poverty didn't mean a whole lot to her.
I can tell you that colleges and universities that are operated by religious orders, such as Iona, Manhattan College, Fordham, Seton Hall, Providence College, Villanova, etc., the orders running the school are very wealthy.
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ChiTownVenture
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Post by ChiTownVenture on Mar 15, 2011 15:45:55 GMT -5
Didn't they suspect something was going on when she pulled up to the university in a Benz  |
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Post by marjar on Mar 15, 2011 15:47:28 GMT -5
Didn't they suspect something was going on when she pulled up to the university in a Benz What did she do with the money? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 15:47:44 GMT -5
It is amazing the people that you read stories about embezzling. When people have the access and the control it is scary.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 15, 2011 15:48:55 GMT -5
It is amazing that people that you read stories about embezzling. When people have the access and the control it is scary.
It is similar to reading posts about moderators on power trips on message forums
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 15:49:25 GMT -5
It is amazing that people that you read stories about embezzling. When people have the access and the control it is scary. It is similar to reading posts about moderators on power trips on message forums very similar... |
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workpublic
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Post by workpublic on Mar 15, 2011 15:51:01 GMT -5
What did she do with the money? maintained an Iona, Manhattan College, Fordham, Seton Hall, Providence College, Villanova, etc., orders NYC area lifestyle.. what did she take? a hundred grand a year or so?  that "social circle" costs money to hang with. |
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workpublic
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Post by workpublic on Mar 15, 2011 15:51:48 GMT -5
This message has been deleted.
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workpublic
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Post by workpublic on Mar 15, 2011 15:52:17 GMT -5
This message has been deleted.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Mar 15, 2011 15:53:32 GMT -5
No Nun On the Run for Sister Thornton.
What was she going to do with the money anyway? She can't buy her way into heaven.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 15, 2011 15:54:35 GMT -5
What was she going to do with the money anyway? She can't buy her way into heaven.
Maybe she had a relative that was in financial trouble.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Mar 15, 2011 16:33:21 GMT -5
Actually Savoir Faire-that was my thought. The nun is of the age where she probably has an aged parent in a nursing home. Financially, the nun may have been an only child and was not able to financially help the parent.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 15, 2011 17:42:16 GMT -5
Actually Savoir Faire-that was my thought. The nun is of the age where she probably has an aged parent in a nursing home. Financially, the nun may have been an only child and was not able to financially help the parent.
A similar scenario is what was said to happen at my high school. The Brooklyn DA eventually dropped the case for lack of evidence.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 19:25:55 GMT -5
Nun pleads guilty to embezzling $850,000 Hey it wasn't her fault. She was using the money to buy the candy bars that the priests give out to the alter boys. |
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handyman2
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Post by handyman2 on Mar 15, 2011 19:36:48 GMT -5
The church has sure taken a beating to their image what with this and all the issues with pedophilia. one issue that was hushed up was one parish where the priests lost a ton of money playing high stakes poker. Then they sent letters to the parishners begging for money claiming the coffers were empty.
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Post by marjar on Mar 15, 2011 19:56:43 GMT -5
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — A Catholic nun who ran Iona College’s finances embezzled more than $850,000 and spent it on herself, federal prosecutors said Friday. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan said Sister Marie Thornton used Iona College funds for her personal expenses from 1999 to 2009. As vice president of finance, she submitted false invoices and had Iona pay her credit card bills, the complaint said. It did not detail her expenses. Thornton, 62, was arrested Thursday and pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan. She was allowed to remain free. Her attorney, Sanford Talkin, said Friday, “I expect us to reach a resolution that all sides will think is fair.” Thornton’s religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph, said Thornton had been recalled and her activities had been restricted. It said she has been ordered to cooperate with investigators and is being given “emotional and spiritual support.” Iona reported a theft last year but did not publicly identify a suspect. In a statement Friday, still not naming Thornton, the college said, “When it was discovered that the funds had been misappropriated, we took immediate action to terminate the employee.” It said the theft had been investigated and new procedures implemented. “Today, we have a new CFO and staff in place; we have recovered the majority of the missing funds; and, from the College’s perspective, the matter is considered closed,” the statement said. newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/12/10/iona-nun-accused-of-embezzlement-pleads-not-guilty/Iona, named for an island monastery off the Scottish coast, was founded in 1940 and has about 4,200 students. Its main campus is in New Rochelle, 15 miles from Manhattan. |
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Mar 15, 2011 20:06:25 GMT -5
I find myself pitying this woman. If her beliefs are deep, despite what she did, it's going to be very, very hard for her to live with this. How does one explain doing something like this when one is a nun? If she'd given the money to charity, or supported an ailing parent, it might not be so difficult. If she simply spent it on herself ...  |
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Mar 15, 2011 20:16:11 GMT -5
What was she going to do with the money anyway? She can't buy her way into heaven. Maybe she had a relative that was in financial trouble. My guess is that she had a gambling problem. Most of the "middle class type" women I see who have been charged with large scale larceny did it to support a gambling addiction. |
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Mar 15, 2011 22:56:56 GMT -5
A fully furnished pied-à-terre on the Upper East Side?
'Same Time, Next Year'?
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