Troy

A judge has postponed the sentencing of a former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute employee who admitted she embezzled more than $350,000 from the institute.

Christine Dickson was expected to be sentenced to up to nine years in prison on Monday, but Rensselaer County Judge Debra Young adjourned the case until next week.

Dicksonis free on $20,000 bail. She was in Young's courtroom to be sentenced to three to nine years in state prison and pay $25,000 in restitution, the amount not covered by insurance.

In October Dickson, 56, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and said that over a six-year stretch she used an RPI-issued credit card to take the money.

An investigation by the college revealed that Dickson, then a business coordinator in the School of Architecture, used the credit card to steal $367,901 between November 2003 and December 2009, according to authorities. The school also found "purchasing and travel logs containing forged signatures" dating back to 2005.

In a 2010 interview with the Times Union, Dickson said "I am living my worst nightmare because of what I did."

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, $1,500 in charges to Amazon.com and also for regular trips to casinos, McNally said.

Dickson had an elaborate system for keeping the credit card charges hidden, officials said. But while she was away on jury duty, unusual purchase authorizations went 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.

After the Dickson investigation, RPI canceled credit cards for faculty and staff in June 2010. The decision was made after RPI discovered "serious instances" of theft that led to the forced departure of several employees.

No further arrests have been made. The college has refused comment.