Former North Reading athletic booster club president pleads guilty to embezzlement
The former president of North Reading Athletic Boosters pleaded guilty Tuesday to embezzling more than $10,000 from the organization, according to a joint release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and North Reading Police Chief Michael Murphy.
John Norton, 69, of North Reading, was sentenced to 11 months in prison for embezzlement by an association officer over $250. Judge Stacey Fortes ruled that Norton’s time had been served.
Police first began investigating Norton in May 2014 after he sent police a personal check to pay for detail officers providing security at a high school basketball game the previous winter, according to a Boston Globe article at the time of his arrest.
Police said they learned Norton had withdrawn about $10,700 from the club account for his own personal use between December 2013 and June 2014.
“In this case the defendant took advantage of student athletes and donors to this organization,’’ Ryan said. “Mr. Norton was entrusted with managing funds that were meant to benefit the North Reading community, and instead he chose to take advantage of confidence that the public had placed in him.’’
As well as president of the booster club, which funded North Reading school athletic programs, Norton had also previously served on North Reading’s School Committee and Planning Commission.
“This was a very unfortunate case from the start, in which a longtime community resident stole money directly from the hands of the children he was tasked with aiding,’’ Murphy added.
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