John Runowicz, NYU’s former chemistry department budget director, has been sentenced to one to three years in prison for stealing a staggering amount of money from the school. Runowicz’s pilfering methods were, to say the least, unusual: Over the course of five years, he submitted 13,000 receipts for petty cash … all from the same liquor store (indicating he wasn’t exactly trying hard to cover up his misdeeds). In sum, he stole a total of $409,000 from the school before he was caught by a student courier who noticed the “repeat receipts” and turned him in (those pesky couriers!).
Runowicz’s lawyer, Daniel Parker, who matriculated from NYU himself, found a way to somehow blame all of this not on his client but on the academic institution: “As an NYU Law graduate, I would hope they spend less time soliciting donations from their alumni until they can run a tighter ship,” Parker said.
NYU chemistry director John Runowicz took $409,000 from petty cash using liquor store receipts [NYDN]
