$25k fines for keeping theme park tickets

NEW YORK, June 7 (UPI) -- A pair of assistant principals at a New York school were each fined $25,000 for keeping more than $20,000 worth of theme park tickets meant for students.

City officials said Assistant Principal Richard Gilberto and Assistant Principal Derric Borrero of IS 24 kept the Great Adventure tickets, which were each worth $64.19 but marked "complimentary," after they were donated to the school for use by students, the New York Post reported Thursday.

Officials said Borrero gave 25 of the tickets to his brother, who sold them for $30 each on eBay and told an undercover investigator he had access to the tickets every year.

Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott described the penalties as "one of, if not the largest fines issued against individuals in a conflict-of-interest case. I took this very seriously."