By Paul J. Condra
Dorothy Robinson, 39, of Sampson Street, was arrested Nov. 29 on charges she stole $16,000 from the Centre Avenue Elementary School PTA where she was the treasurer. But Robinson was convicted of a similar charge in 1994, when she was found guilty of embezzling $24,244 between March 12 and Nov. 17 of 1993 while working as a bookkeeper at Pistol Licensing of Long Island, Inc., of Great Neck.
I want to know why they didn't check her out, said Bill Kay, who was Robinson's boss at Pistol Licensing, a business that assists people who wish to apply for a gun license.
Robinson worked at Pistol Licensing and was hired as an independent bookkeeper and paid per diem. Kay said she was recommended to him by the company accountant.
According to court documents, Robinson committed 56 check-forgeries while working at Pistol Licensing, and spent the money on personal expenses.
The charges filed against her in November accuse her of committing check forgeries and failing to deposit money in the bank, keeping it for herself instead.
She was so good at forgery that I said I can't believe how stupid I was to sign checks she put in front of me without looking at them, Kay said.
For that crime, Robinson was sentenced in Nassau Criminal Court in 1995. She was released on a three-year probation and asked to pay $12,000 in restitution.
At that time, Robinson was living in Valley Stream. She recently moved to East Rockaway with her husband, Kenneth, 33, and their three children, ages 7, 9 and 11. She is also pregnant.
Robinson said she was set up by Kay, and she also maintains her innocence in the recent charges against her, for which she was released from jail on her own recognizance.
According to Nassau detectives, the present case against her is based on an internal audit the PTA conducted in October to look into the missing funds. That audit raised questions about Robinson's role as treasurer.
But what officials in the district and PTA members didn't know, was that Robinson had a criminal history identical to the current charges against her.
When we discovered this happened, it was through the police, said East Rockaway superintendent Arnie Dodge, who shared the shock of most school officials. Dodge said it is up to the PTA to decide how it chooses its members, but that background checks certainly would be a good idea.
But Chris Bruno, Centre Avenue PTA president, reminds membership in the organization is on a volunteer basis. When asked if the PTA should perform background checks, she didn't answer yes or no, only that such situations are very rare.
National officials of the PTA said there are no rules stipulating background checks for positions in the PTA, and that governance is left up to the individual group.
Most PTA members and school officials were gripped by incredulity at hearing the charges against Robinson.
Nobody would ever think they'd do something like that, said Donna Leban, a PTA member at nearby Rhame Ave Elementary. Still, Leban said she'd like to see more safeguards in the future to ensure it doesn't happen again.
