Nun escapes prison term for embezzling $850,000 from Catholic college
November 14, 2011
A New York judge has decided against a prison sentence for a nun who pleaded guilty to stealing $850,000 from a Catholic school where she was a finance official.
Sister Marie Thornton admitted embezzling the funds from Iona College, explaining that she used the money to sustain a gambling habit. But Iona did not demand financial restitution, and Judge Kimba Wood accepted a defense recommendation that Sister Thornton be spared a possible 3-year prison term. She will perform community service instead.
The nun’s religious community has taken a stricter approach. The New York Post reports that Sister Thornton is living in virtual solitary confinement in a Philadelphia convent.
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Further information:
- Twisted sister in nun jail (New York Post)
- Nun pleads guilty to embezzling $850,000 from Catholic college (CWN, 3/10)
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