Tufts officials guilty of $1M in thefts

WOBURN, Mass., June 21 (UPI) -- A pair of former Tufts University administrators have admitted stealing nearly $1 million from the school, Massachusetts prosecutors say.

The pair, Josephine Nealley and Raymond Rodriguez, have confessed to spending the ill-gotten gains on such things as overseas travel, gourmet steaks and high-end fashion, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.

Nealley, Tufts's one-time director its student activities office, pleaded guilty to stealing $372,576. Rodriguez, who was the office's budget and fiscal coordinator, admitted taking $604,873 from the Medford, Mass., college, Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a statement.

"These two employees abused the access that they were given by the university to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars that was meant to help students," Leone said, adding that the two were convicted Friday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

The Globe said the pair have been sentenced to two years in prison, five years of probation and ordered to make full restitution.