Ex-Charleroi teachers union treasurer facing charges
CHARLEROI – The former treasurer of the teachers union in Charleroi Area School District was arrested Wednesday on charges she stole more than $65,000 from the organization while she served as its treasurer.
State police charged Rae Dawn Grillo, 55, of Fallowfield Township, with two felony counts of theft over accusations she stole the money while serving as treasurer of Charleroi Area Education Association from 2007 to 2012, court records state.
The missing money was discovered in June 2012 when the Pennsylvania State Education Association learned its Charleroi members owed the association $7,262 in union dues, police stated in the affidavit supporting the criminal charges. The state association then went to the CAEA’s new treasurer, and police said they found numerous questionable transactions while reviewing the local organization’s checking account.
Police said Grillo was questioned about the spending and took responsibility for the unauthorized checks.
The withdrawals were written from an account reserved for emergency strike money. Grillo was union president when the discrepancies were discovered, court documents show. She since has resigned that post, police said.
Many of the checks allegedly were written by Grillo and made out to cash, without any explanation or receipts for the expenditures, the record shows.
The association met with Grillo in November 2012, at which time she agreed to return $57,788 to the union within 90 days, police said.
The U.S. Department of Labor also became involved in the investigation, and it reported finding an additional $8,175 missing from the union’s bank account while Grillo was its treasurer. That money has not been returned to the union, the affidavit indicates.
Grillo, of 22 Pleasant Valley Drive, was released on $50,000 unsecured bond set Wednesday by District Judge Larry Hopkins.
Her attorney, Jason Walsh of Charleroi, could not be reached Wednesday afternoon. The school superintendent, Edward Zelich, and the district’s solicitor also could not be reached.