Gambling nun lays blame for crime, A 63-year-old gambling nun blames her childhood for the crime she committed, decision to embezzle money from Iona College, where she was vice president. Sister Marie Thornton, who is accused of covering up her gambling sprees with phony invoices, was sentenced to probation Tuesday.

A Catholic nun with a gambling habit was sentenced on Tuesday to community service and repayment of less than half of the $850,000 she embezzled from Iona College, where she worked as vice president of finance. Gambling nun

Sister Marie Thornton, better known as Sister Susie, blamed “childhood demons” for the addiction. She was the former vice president of finance at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, and was charged with sending phony invoices to the school to pay off personal credit card bills and expenses, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Gambling nun 850,000,

The thefts occurred between 1999 and 2009, when Thornton resigned from the Catholic college, court documents said. She entered a plea of not guilty to a federal embezzlement charge. Gambling nun childhood demons, bruce willis photosession,

The college of some 5,000 students has come under fire from alumni and donors for never reporting the missing money to authorities and only mentioning the theft in its 2009 tax filing sent in February to the Internal Revenue Service.

Iona officials issued a statement saying the school had implemented new financial oversight controls and recovered most of the missing funds.

The nun had a reputation for visiting casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to former Iona basketball coach Jeff Ruland.

The U.S. Attorney’s office originally said the theft was more than $1.2 million but revised the amount to more than $850,000, saying it had originally miscalculated.