The former president of the Taylor Allderdice High School Alumni Association was arrested Friday after investigators said he stole nearly $300,000 from the organization, the school’s junior varsity baseball team and the 14th Ward Baseball Association, a nonprofit youth baseball league.
Jeffrey Rosenthal, 63, of Squirrel Hill controlled the groups’ bank accounts. From September 2009 to October 2015, he wrote 745 checks to himself for nearly $288,000, investigators said. According to a criminal complaint, Mr. Rosenthal, who is also executive director of the baseball league, used the money to pay credit card and utility companies, the Hair Network salon in Squirrel Hill, BMW Financial and other businesses.
He faces charges including forgery, theft and receiving stolen property.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office began investigating Mr. Rosenthal last year, after the high school PTO took over the alumni association and raised questions about its financials. Others noticed that numerous checks had been written to Mr. Rosenthal and the baseball association, which isn’t affiliated with the high school, the criminal complaint states.
Mr. Rosenthal, a 1971 Allderdice graduate who served as the alumni association president for about 14 years, told the group that other people, including Pittsburgh chief operations officer Guy Costa, had the ability to sign checks from the association’s bank account.
Mr. Costa told authorities that although he was authorized to, he never wrote any checks on behalf of the alumni association and hasn’t been involved with the organization for several years.
“I was surprised when I was approached for the investigation,” he said Friday, noting Mr. Rosenthal had done a lot of good work for the community and youth baseball programs.
“We were good friends and I’m surprised that this occurred,” Mr. Costa said.
Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said the high school and the PTO assumed control of the alumni association and its bank accounts in October 2015. Mr. Rosenthal is no longer affiliated with the junior varsity baseball team, which he served as a volunteer coach several years ago.
Mr. Rosenthal told investigators that he wrote checks to reimburse himself after he made purchases on behalf of the three organizations. He said he paid for items like T-shirts, trophies, plaques, a new roof for the baseball league’s concession stand and wages for the umpires, according to the complaint.
But investigators reviewed his credit card statements, and found that Mr. Rosenthal never used his personal funds to make purchases on behalf of those groups, the complaint states.
Mr. Rosenthal also is accused of inflating the amount of money raised for the school during a 2012 fundraiser so a doctor, who pledged to match donations, would contribute more money, the complaint states.
Elizabeth Behrman: Lbehrman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590.
First Published: December 16, 2016, 4:05 p.m.
Updated: December 17, 2016, 4:47 a.m.
