“Charter school director pleads guilty to program theft.” Salt Lake Tribune (UT), 5/31/2011
The principal of a North Salt Lake charter high school, one of the state’s largest, has resigned after pleading guilty to mishandling federal education money in Pennsylvania.Dennis Bruno, 59, was director of secondary education at Legacy Preparatory Academy until Thursday. The K-12 school has 876 students, including 409 in grades six through 12...... The guilty plea comes one month after James A. Stokes, a former teacher at Legacy, was sentenced to jail and probation for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old female student...
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“Bruno pleads guilty to charges.” Altoona Mirror (PA), 5/10/2011
JOHNSTOWN - Glendale School District's former superintendent faces the possibility of years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines after admitting in federal court he mishandled education funds.Dennis Bruno, 59, now a school official in North Salt Lake, Utah, appeared Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Kim Gibson, pleading guilty to one count of federal program theft, admitting he intentionally misappropriated $49,600 in federal Improvement in Education funds in late 2005 - money the district received for school enhancements...In a press release Monday, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said the charge carries up to a decade in federal prison and fines up to $250,000, although criminal history - or in Bruno's case, the lack of one prior to this charge - would be weighed at sentencing.Prosecutors indicated that Bruno also admitted he was part of a conspiracy to acquire $414,000 from the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate Program, that were directed to the district for Internet upgrades and telecommunication improvements. Such technology upgrades put tiny, rural Glendale on the map a decade ago, with Bruno often leading the way in finding grants for the school.An audit revealed Bruno awarded contracts without board approval and inappropriately spent and obtained funding during his final years in office.Bruno was suspended in 2008 and abruptly resigned months later...
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“Former drama teacher gets jail for fondling student, and forgiveness from victim's family.” Deseret News (UT), 4/6/2011
FARMINGTON — A former Woods Cross drama teacher accused of fondling a 14-year-old student was sentenced to a year in jail Wednesday after an extraordinary display of forgiveness by the victim's family.A 2nd District judge ordered James D. Stokes to complete treatment at the Northern Utah Community Correctional Center, a halfway house in Ogden for sex offenders, as soon as space is available.Stokes, 62, pleaded guilty in February to one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a second identical charge, but Stokes still faced a prison term of up to 15 years, which Judge John Morris agreed to suspend.The victim and her father spoke in court Wednesday of their desire for Stokes to get treatment so he does not abuse anyone else. They noted the other victims of his crime, including other students and his own family...Stokes was the drama teacher at the Legacy Preparatory Academy charter school in Woods Cross when he was accused of molesting a 14-year-old student. Prosecutors say he twice molested the girl in his car.After a play rehearsal in January 2010, Stokes offered the girl a ride home and drove her to a remote area in Centerville, where the assaults occurred, police said. The girl told her parents what had happened in July, and Stokes was arrested the next month, just days before school was to start...
