DANVERS — A former chief financial officer at St. John's Prep is accused of stealing nearly $82,000 from the Catholic high school to buy cars for himself and another ex-employee, as well as other luxuries.
Brian Dalphonse, 41, of Goffstown, N.H., was indicted Wednesday by a Salem Superior Court Grand Jury on four counts of larceny over $250 and three counts of false entry into corporate books.
Dalphonse plans to plead not guilty to the charges, his attorney Bill Christie said yesterday. He will be arraigned in Salem Superior Court April 14.
Christie said Dalphonse "denied any allegation of criminal conduct."
"We look to vigorously defend the allegations against him," the lawyer said.
The case is being prosecuted by the Middlesex District Attorney's office because one of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's relatives is a longtime St. John's Prep employee, said Steve O'Connell, spokesman for Blodgett's office.
Blodgett asked his counterpart in Middlesex, Gerry Leone, to take on the case to avoid any conflict of interest, O'Connell said.
"The defendant is alleged to have violated the trust bestowed upon him as the chief financial officer of St. John's Prep," Leone said in a press release. "We allege that the defendant abused this trust and stole over $80,000 from the school."
The accounting problems came to light after Dalphonse left St. John's in October, and the nonprofit boys' high school hired a forensic auditing firm to audit its books, said Prep Headmaster Albert J. Shannon in the DA's statement. School officials contacted the Essex County district attorney with the firm's findings.
"St. John's Prep has cooperated fully with the DA's office and will continue to do so as we remain focused on our educational mission and the daily life of the school," Shannon said in the statement.
Cars, home theater, smart phone
Prosecutors say that between 2006 and 2008 Dalphonse stole a total of $81,842.21. He used school checks and the school Visa card to pay off one car and purchase another. He also bought a home theater system worth $2,150.90, a $749.99 smart phone and made $612.96 in upgrades to his car, according to prosecutors.
In one car purchase, Dalphonse allegedly sent a St. John's Prep check to AmeriCredit in 2007 and altered the records to say Ameritrade instead. The former CFO also listed the payment as van transportation to avoid detection, according to the district attorney's office.
In the other car purchase, Dalphonse used a school check to purchase a vehicle for a former school employee. Neither vehicle purchase was authorized by the school, the press release said.
The former CFO is also accused of writing $13,000 in school checks without authorization to the same former school employee.
Dalphonse worked at the private Xavarian Brothers school for close to 20 years, his attorney said. Christie said he and his client knew St. John's had conducted an audit but school officials denied their request to see the results. His client acted within the scope of his authority, Christie said.
Dalphonse left St. John's in the fall, but neither school officials nor his attorney would comment on the circumstances of his departure or on the nature of the former CFO's working relationship with the other employee.
"It's the start of the case," Christie said. "I'm not going to comment on the facts, especially in light of the fact we were denied access to the audit."
Christie would not say if Dalphonse is currently employed.
"It's a very difficult time," the attorney said. "Although there is an indictment, we're going to protect his privacy as much as we can."
St. John's Director of Communication Beth Forbes said school officials would have nothing further to say beyond comments made in the press release. They did not want to influence the legal process, she said.
"We're cooperating with the DA," Forbes said. "Our focus, our efforts right now are on school."
Cara O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, said each of Dalphonse's counts of larceny comes with a maximum sentence of five years in state prison. The three charges of false entry into corporate books carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each, she said.
The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Elisha Willis. The investigation was conducted by Patrick Byrne, assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Public Prosecution, Anti-Terrorism, Corruption and Technology Unit.
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