March 18, 2004 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Oral Suer, former chief executive of the United Way of the National Capital Area, in Washington, pleaded guilty in federal court this month to two felony charges that he stole nearly $500,000 from the organization during his 27-year tenure.
The felony counts carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, but prosecutors said that Mr. Suer will probably serve about two years in jail as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office here. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14.
Officials at the local United Way said they were disappointed with the length of the proposed jail term for Mr. Suer because of the effects that the scandal over his leadership have had on the organization.
“The damage is — and there’s only one word for it — incalculable,” said Charles W. Anderson, chief executive of the United Way of the National Capital Area.
Mr. Anderson cited an audit, released in August, that said that Mr. Suer, who served as chief executive from 1974 to 2002, received $2.4-million more than his approved compensation and apparently paid back less than half that sum.
The 69-year-old Mr. Suer still faces two civil lawsuits filed by the United Way of the National Capital Area that seek the repayment of $1.6-million he allegedly stole from the group (The Chronicle, September 4, 2003). Mr. Suer has entered settlement discussions with the organization on those charges, according to Mr. Anderson, but no deal has been reached.
Mr. Suer pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here to receiving excessive pension payments and transporting stolen property. In his plea, Mr. Suer acknowledged that he received excessive pension payments, pocketed unreimbursed cash advances, and filed for fraudulent business expenses for reimbursement. For example, he charged $146 to the charity for “computer items,” when in fact the money was spent at Strike Zone, a bowling alley in Virginia.
Mr. Suer treated the charity like “his personal ATM,” said U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty. “This is a story about greed and the violation of trust.”
Mr. Suer’s lawyer, Graeme W. Bush, said that his client “has done much good for the community and, notwithstanding the current problems, for United Way as well. By his plea today, Mr. Suer accepts responsibility for his mistakes and will pay his debt to society. He apologizes to those he has let down.”
Mr. Anderson, who took over Washington’s United Way in June, said he is glad the plea arrangement was made. “We’re ready to bring final closure to this,” he said, “so we can focus on serving the needs of the people in our area.”
