ALBANY, New York — The former chief financial officer of a foundation that funds charter schools in Albany has been sentenced to from 5 to 10 years in prison for embezzling almost $203,000 from the organization.
Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares says 49-year-old Ronald Racela was sentenced Tuesday in state Supreme Court, where he pleaded guilty in March to second-degree grand larceny.
Racela admitted stealing the money by making bogus payroll entries while working for the Brighter Choice Foundation from September 2011 until December.
He's been ordered to pay back about $174,000 after bookkeeping adjustments.
Brighter Choice officials said they weren't aware Racela was on probation for stealing almost $54,000 from KeyBank, where he was a manager, when he was hired in June 2010.
