Former Art Institute payroll manager gets 3 years for $2.3 million fraud schemeNovember 17, 2023 7:02 AM
Tim Hecke
CHICAGO — The Art Institute of Chicago’s former payroll manager has been sentenced to three years in prison for running a long-term scheme that diverted $2,308,772 of the museum’s money to his personal bank accounts.
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah handed down the sentence on Thursday, bringing a relatively quick end to the case, which federal prosecutors first announced in January.
Michael Maurello, 57, must also pay restitution, a feat his attorney claimed was “impossible” in light of the significant loss the museum sustained and the fact that Maurello is essentially unemployable. He faced a maximum sentence of 20 years on the fraud charge. ...
Maurello “has lost everything he cherished in his life,” attorney Frank Cece, Jr. wrote in defense sentencing memorandum. “His husband of 20 years divorced him. Most of his family has alienated him. He is no longer employed or employable due to the [criminal charges] and his medical condition…”
Those medical conditions include the loss of his right leg below the knee due to gangrene, Cece explained. ...
CWB ChicagoHis lawyer's lament is like begging for sympathy for the poor, lonely orphan ... who is an orphan only because he killed his parents.
