By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A former NYU chemistry department head pleaded guilty to scamming $409,000 from the school by filing false expenses that included liquor store purchases.
East Village resident John Runowicz, 48, was charged with submitting 13,000 phony expense requests to the Bursar's office over a six-year period from 2003 to 2009.
University auditors caught onto the scam before notifying the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
He pleaded guilty grand larceny — the top indictment charge — and was promised one to three years in prison.
He will also have to drain his retirement account to pay a yet to be determined amount of restitution.
"We're extremely disappointed that this individual betrayed the trust of our community," said NYU spokeman James Devitt.
