D.C. Worker Accused of Taking Money Intended for Children

WASHINGTON - It has happened again in the District: an employee accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the city. This time, the money was intended for low-income school children.

The D.C. Attorney General has charged Emerson Crawley with 17 counts of making false representations. Crawley allegedly submitted 17 fraudulent expense reports between 2003 and 2005.

The receipts show Crawley racked up $11,385 in food and bar tabs at expensive restaurants and adult entertainment clubs, claiming they were training sessions.

One expense report shows Crawley spent more than $1,200 at Finemondo's Italian Restaurant in Northwest in August of 2004. Two other reports include receipts totaling $472 at Camelot Show Club, an exotic night club on M Street.

"I'm disgusted by what has transpired," says Linda Singer, the District's attorney general. "These reports are heartbreaking."

Singer points out that Crawley is innocent until proven guilty.

"These are allegations, but what is so offensive is this is someone who took the public trust and used it to live a life of luxury."

Crawley faces up to 17 years in jail and $1.7 million in fines if convicted.

The fund Crawley allegedly used was federal money intended for after-school programs for low-income children. Crawley is a program manager at After School for All at Shaw Junior High School.

According to a spokesperson for D.C. Public Schools, Crawley remains on the job.

On Monday, Eugene Smith, the former director of Internal Audit for the District, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $46,000 in cash in 2003 from an account he had control of. It was money that had originally been allocated for the New Vistas charter school.

Smith, 46, formerly of Odenton, Md., faces 12 to 18 months in jail when he is sentenced.

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