Elburn man among 9 charged in scheme at NIU
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An Elburn man is among nine current or former Northern Illinois University employees charged with using a secret bank account to funnel away thousands of dollars for themselves.
DeKalb County State's Attorney Clay Campbell announced the charges Tuesday against the nine individuals as part of an ongoing "coffee fund" investigation at the DeKalb school.
Authorities say the employees were working at a campus physical plant when they sold scrap metal to a local company that would write checks to an account for university employees known as the "coffee fund."
Checks from the DeKalb Iron and Metal Company to the fund have totaled more than $13,000 since 2005, according to a published report.
Among those charged Tuesday were Robert Albanese, of the 1000 block of President Street in Elburn, Michael Hall of Shannon, Ill., Lawrence Murray of Rochelle, Susan Zahm of Hillcrest, Kenneth Pugh of Sycamore, Keenon Darlinger of DeKalb, Mark Beaird of Kings, Joseph Alberti of DeKalb and Keith Jackson of Hinckley.
Some of the charges include theft, official misconduct and obstruction of justice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
