On Thursday Sister Marie E. Thornton, formerly the vice president of finance at New York’s Iona College, surrendered to authorities on charges that she embezzled $1.2 million from the college.
According to an article by Brue Golding in the New York Post
Sister Marie Thornton, 62, allegedly stole the money over the course of a decade while serving as vice president of finance at Iona College in New Rochelle. Court papers say her unholy scam included getting reimbursed for phony vendor invoices and having the college pay “credit-card bills for personal expenses.”
Iona officials reportedly fired Thornton after discovering the missing dough last year but didn’t inform police or prosecutors.
It’s a little unclear what Thornton could really have spent $1.2 million on (Iona’s president said it was more like $800,000). According to former Iona men’s basketball coach Jeff Ruland: “I think she absconded with some funds or something down to Atlantic City.” Ruland is now the men’s basketball coach at the University of the District of Columbia.
Thornton plead not guilty to a single count of theft involving a federally funded program.
