Stealing Can Happen

This is why schools have and should have strict accounting procedures. Millions of dollars were embezzled in Roslyn NY by the people who were suppose to be accounting for the money. This sup lost his $230,000 job over it. It is critical to have an honest, very competent business manager as a first priority.

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Roslyn schools chief resigns
By Karla Schuster
Staff Writer

June 10, 2004

Suspended Roslyn schools Superintendent Frank Tassone has submitted a resignation letter that will be taken up at a special school board meeting tonight, according to his attorney and sources familiar with the situation.

Tassone, 57, who was suspended with pay Friday amid a widening investigation into alleged embezzlement by school officials, sent a letter to the district saying he is resigning to retire, said his attorney, John L. Kase of Garden City.

Meanwhile, the school board will convene a meeting at 8 p.m. in the Roslyn High School auditorium for purposes of "taking action with respect to a particular personnel matter," according to the meeting notice posted on the district's Web site.

School board President William Costigan would not discuss the subject of the meeting, except to say the board will discuss two resolutions and "will be taking action."

Tassone submitted his resignation to the district on Tuesday, according to sources. His resignation is not official until the school board votes to accept it at a public meeting.

Tassone's salary is $230,800 for the 2003-04 year. He is in the second year of a five-year contract that includes a provision that he be paid a lump sum "separation payment" of at least $200,000.

It is not clear whether Tassone is still entitled to the payment. "It's much too early to talk about that," Kase said last night.

Tassone's resignation ends a 12-year career at one of the state's richest and best-performing school districts, and comes just a week after Roslyn's former chief financial officer was arrested for first-degree grand larceny.

Pamela Gluckin, 58, pleaded not guilty and was released after posting $25,000 bail and surrendering her passport. Prosecutors allege she embezzled more than $1 million during her 12-year tenure in the district's business office. She was first caught by district officials in 2002, but was allowed to quietly retire after repaying $250,000 - then believed to be the full amount stolen.

The school board never reported the alleged theft to police at the time. In February, however, an anonymous letter to the district accused Gluckin of taking far more and sparked an investigation by the Nassau County district attorney's office.

Prosecutors have said that other members of Gluckin's family, or other school officials, could be charged as their investigation continues.

Tassone was suspended after officials learned that over about 10 years, the school board had unknowingly paid $800,000 for word processing to a company that shares Tassone's home address. The same day, Gluckin's niece, Debra Rigano, a high school guidance clerk who once worked for her aunt in the business office, also was suspended with pay.

Sources have said that authorities are digging through numerous financial records from the district and tracking down items on a list of $7.8 million worth of suspicious expenses identified by Roslyn's former auditor.

Earlier this week, two vendors on that list told Newsday they were not paid anything close to what school records show. Sources have said the records were doctored to conceal where the money was really going.