Former Lynn VFW Treasurer Accused Of Stealing $300K
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The former treasurer of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Lynn has been accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the group.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley's office says 65-year-old George Robertson of Lynn deposited checks from the VFW into his own account and used the money for his own expenses.
Coakley's office said Robertson began to steal from the VFW in November 2010 after the group was forced to sell its headquarters because of financial trouble.
Authorities say the theft was uncovered after the manager at Robertson's bank noticed he was depositing the VFW checks into his personal account.
He and his wife Barbara admit he took some money from the organization but say there's no way he pocketed $300,000.
"I know I did wrong, but I didn't take that much," he says. "I wouldn't do that."
Robertson's wife says he was just paying himself back for all the money he put in to keep the struggling VFW in business.
"He took a lot of his own money, our money to supply them with the alcohol they needed for the bar, the paper products, the tonic," says Barbara.
Barbara believes George was in the early stages of dementia when the alleged embezzlement happened.
"He made a mistake but part of that was his illness too," she says.
Barbara says George will turn himself into police next week.
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