Troy

A grand jury indicted a former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute worker Friday on a felony theft charge for embezzling more than $350,000 using a college-issued credit card.

Disclosure of the missing funds in 2010 uncovered other abuses and thefts, leading to several dismissals at the four-year school.

Christine Dickson, 55, was arrested by city police three years ago on a second-degree grand larceny charge, but had been in extended plea negotiations since that time, said Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally.

"We did not resolve the case by that route so we put the case before the grand jury," he said.

Dickson's arraignment is pending. She was released three years ago on her own recognizance and remains under the supervision of the probation department.

An internal investigation by the college revealed Dickson, then a business coordinator in the School of Architecture, allegedly used an RPI-issued purchasing card to steal $367,901.49 between November 2003 and December 2009. The school also found "purchasing and travel logs containing forged signatures" dating back to 2005.

Dickson allegedly used the money to rack up $82,000 in cash advances, $15,000 in car rentals, $4,900 for cruise and airline travel, and $1,500 in charges to Amazon.com, and also used some funds for trips to casinos, McNally said.

During a 2010 interview with the Times Union, Dickson would not comment on why she took the funds or what she did with it and questioned the amount the school said she stole.

Dickson, however, admitted to misusing her card. "I am living my worst nightmare because of what I did," she said at the time.

Dickson's scheme allegedly was discovered while she was out of work for three weeks serving jury duty in a murder trial.

Dickson had an elaborate system for keeping the credit card charges hidden, officials said. But while she was away, unusual purchase authorizations came through to her immediate supervisor, Dale Masten, which sparked the investigation. As a result of the scandal, Masten also was fired by RPI, despite in 2003 being named a Pillar of Rensselaer, the highest honor the school gives employees.

In the wake of the Dickson investigation, in June 2010, RPI canceled credit cards for faculty and staff after discovering "serious instances" of theft that led to the forced departure of several employees.

No further arrests have been made since then and the college has refused to comment on how many employees lost their jobs. RPI declined further comment on the case Friday.

bgardinier@timesunion.com • 518-454-5696 • @BobGardinier