THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270315
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
The former bookkeeper for Nauticus has been arrested and charged with embezzling at least $10,000 from the maritime center, beginning when the facility was still a concept, police confirmed Monday.
Police late Thursday charged Theresa Collins, 31, of the 900 block of Ketch Court in Chesapeake, with taking money from the project's funds from September 1992 to November 1993.
Collins turned herself in to authorities Thursday, police spokesman Larry Hill said. She was released on a personal recognizance bond when she promised to return to court Oct. 21. Her attorney, David Moyer, declined to comment on the charges.
Collins, whom friends called ``Tracy,'' resigned from Nauticus in July after a series of disagreements with the facility's directors, former museum employees said.
``I am shocked. I just can't believe it,'' said Donna Wentworth, a former executive secretary with Nauticus who worked closely with Collins. ``There is no way she could have done it. She doesn't spend money, that's the funny part. She had a very strict budget and lived by it.''
Collins was one of the first Nauticus employees hired in 1990 when the staff worked out of an office at 201 Granby St. Collins oversaw payroll and other disbursements.
As the staff grew, so did Collins' responsibilities, former employees said.
But shortly after the June 1 opening of the maritime museum, a series of disagreements between employees and Nauticus directors wracked the project, ending with the resignations or terminations of several key staff members.
Wentworth said she and Collins were among those forced to resign.
Nauticus president Michael Bartlett declined to comment. MEMO: Staff writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: EMBEZZLEMENT ARREST NAUTICUS by CNB