It's a shame and I feel for the child/children of that parent. I'm sure they will be an outcast since many parents won't want to communicate with the parent any longer.
It's a great reminder to all how important it is to have 2 signatures on the checks, an audit done every time a Treasurer changes AND a limit on the number of years a person can be in office.
Really sad--I saw it on the news as well. Weird that one of the quotes is that they don't have "any idea how a PTA raised such sums"...they really have no clue do they. In one year our PTO put over 30k into the school via our programs and purchases. Now I DON'T know how you could not have programs in place to catch that sort of thing...even cursory ones would bring that sort of embezzlement to light. Too bad really.
You might have to register to read this story from the Washington Post. I think it's the largest amount of money I've ever heard of embezzled from a parent group--$180,000!
washingtonpost.com
Even if it was over 5 years, how the heck do you not miss that much money???