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Anthony Rotunno made a hasty exit from his job as principal of John F. Kennedy HS in the Bronx after state investigators began looking into an alleged ripoff of some $90,000.
Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? The grownups at John F. Kennedy High School, that's who - a new state report says. Staffers at the Bronx school swiped more than $90,000 students raised at bake sales and other fund-raisers, state Controller Thomas DiNapoli found.
Principal Anthony Rotunno resigned after probers uncovered the sugary swindle - the latest black eye for a school facing possible closure.
In a particularly egregious abuse, Kennedy staffers blew more than $7,000 on four retirement parties at suburban eateries, the audit found.
"This was the students' money," DiNapoli said. "They raised it selling cupcakes and asking for donations. The students worked hard to raise this money. Whoever is responsible should be punished."
The audit, covering the period July 2007 to June 2009, found that Kennedy staffers misused or stole $91,216.
That money was pooled in what's known as a general school fund, an account used to pay for student activities such as trips and proms. The cash comes from student bake sales, candy sales, other fund-raisers and proceeds from the school store.
The teachers used a chunk of the money to party at Live @ the Falcon, a popular concert hall in Marlboro, N.Y., in September 2007, sources said.
In June 2008, they celebrated at Yonkers eateries Dunwoodie Pizzeria & Restaurant and Tombolino Ristorante. And they dined at Pasta Amore, an Italian restaurant in Piermont, with sweeping views of the Hudson River.
"Kennedy officials told us that they reimbursed the account for $7,114 [for the teacher parties]; however, they were unable to provide any evidence to indicate that this had occurred," DiNapoli's report says.
The Education Department is investigating how the rest of the money disappeared.
Among the audit's other alarming findings:
- The Kingsbridge school owes $60,559 to a vendor for yearbooks, caps, gowns and championship rings purchased from 2004 to 2007.
- Kennedy is also on the hook for $22,790 to a vending machine company for supplies bought for the school store.
- The school spent $713 of the students' cash on teachers' keys.
- The school's treasurer bounced 15 checks worth a total of $28,825 because she didn't even know the accounts were depleted.
The report pins blame squarely on Rotunno's shoulders.
"The Kennedy principal did not establish basic accountability for student funds," the report says.
Rotunno stepped down in May, officials said.
"When we confronted Mr. Rotunno with the draft audit report a month ago, he resigned and will never work in the Department of Education again," said Education Department spokesman Danny Kanner.
Reached on his cell phone, Rotunno said only, "That's something that would have to be handled by the Department of Education."
A department supervisor has taken control of the finances of the troubled school, which is one of 34 facing possible closure by the state.
