Linda Candiano, a supervisor at the treasure's office at Adelphi University, has been accused of embezzling nearly $300,000 in forged checks. The second theft scandal to hit Adelphi in less than ten years was made public on Wednesday, October 15, 2003 with a brief email from the Department of Affairs to Adelphi's students and faculty.

"As you may have heard, a former employee has been arrested for an apparent theft of funds from the University. Our internal procedures identified the problem, and we immediately reported the matter to the police. We are working with the Nassau County Police Department as they continue their investigation."

According to Newsday, Candiano allegedly stole more than $278,450 from November 2000 to late September 2003, as an accounts payable supervisor in the controller's office.

Lori DugganGold, Adelphi's director of public affairs, stated the theft was uncovered in an internal review. She declined to comment whether the audit was routine or trigged by suspicion.

Candiano was charged with second-degree forgery, possession of a forged instrument, computer trespass, first-degree falsifying business records, and grand larceny. If held accountable for all charges, she could be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Rumors flying across campus accuse the administration of initially letting Candiano go free of any charges. It is believed that authorities originally uncovered the scandal two weeks ago. In response to the theft, Candiano was suspended on September 29th and fired October 6th. She was not arrested until October 15th when she returned to the university's campus with her attorney, Ronald L. Schoenberg to plead not guilty. None of these allegations have been verified.

Candiano's saga is reminiscent of the Peter Diamandopoulos scandal from October 1995. With a $742,000 raise over a ten-year time period, President Diamandopoulos had a salary of $837,000 when he was finally investigated. At a time when course offerings at Adelphi were sharply reduced and financial aid diminished, Diamandopoulos thrived with trips to France, England, Switzerland, and Greece.

Many of Adelphi's trustees were involved in the scandal of 1995. The greater the involvement, the closer to Diamandopolous the trustee was. Secretary of the Treasury, William Simon, was made an honorary trustee and amassed hundreds of millions of dollars by financing hostile takeovers with junk bonds and then asset-stripping the companies. During the reign of Diamandopoulos, undergraduate enrollment went from 4.049 in 1987 to 1,895 in 1997.

A common trepidation on campus has been the fear of a tuition hike due to the stolen funds. Sophomore Daniel Diaz commented, "As a student at Adelphi, I am offended that proper precautions were not taken to prevent these actions from occurring. I can only hope that tuition does not rise higher than it has already become."

DugganGold commented that after the audit, Adelphi reviewed and changed certain procedures. "We have asked outside auditors to provide guidance on additional measures we can put in place to further safeguard the University."

As this story unfolds, the Delphian will continue the latest coverage on Adelphi University's embezzling scandal.