THESE NEWS STORIES APPEARED IN THE "NEW RIVER CURRENT" SECTION OF THE ROANOKE TIMES **************************************************** Tuesday, April 18, 2000 Theft case hinges on paper trail Former Virginia Tech administrator facing embezzlement charges opts for a trial by judge instead of jury because of complexity of case. By SHAY WESSOL THE ROANOKE TIMES CHRISTIANSBURG -- Prosecutors began Monday detailing a long paper trail to build their case against a former Virginia Tech administrator accused of embezzling public funds. Craig A. Rogers, the former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, which is affiliated with the College of Engineering, faces six charges, brought by a Montgomery County grand jury in July, involving transactions with state money between April 1993 and August 1996. Rogers pleaded not guilty to two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and four counts of misuse of state funds during a brief arraignment before his trial before Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs opened Monday morning. The prosecution dropped one count of each charge before the arraignment. The trial is expected to run through Wednesday morning, defense attorney Jimmy Turk said. It had been scheduled as a five-day jury trial, but Grubbs released the jury pool Monday morning saying Rogers had opted for a bench trial, which is decided by the judge. Turk said the defense worried that a jury would have trouble sifting through the documentation of transactions and the complexities of the case. "We really felt like a jury may have had a hard time following the different departments, the different accounts and the different funding for the university," Turk said. "We felt like they may have been bored to death." In opening arguments and in presenting the commonwealth's case, Assistant Attorney General Jeb Terrien outlined the charges, which involve: An airline ticket and more than $200 in reimbursements obtained to attend the 1996 NCAA basketball tournament in Dallas. Funds obtained from Byelocorp Scientific Inc. for supplies and labor while its researchers conducted work at the Center for Intelligent Material Systems. Although Virginia Tech paid for the supplies, prosecutors allege the money was collected by Rogers' private consulting firm, Paradigm Inc. Funds generated by two conferences, one in 1994 and a second in 1995, with Paradigm Inc. managing the conferences. Questions about typing services done by center employees on a technical journal Rogers edited. Prosecutors allege he diverted checks meant to repay Virginia Tech for its staff into a private account. Defense attorney Melissa Friedman stressed during her opening argument that the center is almost entirely self-funded and relies on few state funds. Rogers spent his tenure as its director going cross country to solicit grants and donations for the programs. "Dr. Rogers never intended to take any money that belonged to Virginia Tech," she said. Rogers left Virginia Tech in 1996 to become dean of the College of Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He stepped down from that post the day after his indictment in Montgomery County. He has been teaching at the university since then. The exact amount of money allegedly misappropriated wasn't mentioned during Monday's proceedings. Defense attorneys are expected take up their case -- which Turk said would show Rogers committed no criminal act and only did what he was advised to do by the university -- this morning. ************************************************* Wednesday, April 19, 2000 Professor takes stand in own defense Craig Rogers answers defense and prosecution questions about the embezzlement charges against him. By SHAY WESSOL THE ROANOKE TIMES CHRISTIANSBURG -- A former Virginia Tech administrator went through nearly every emotion imaginable as he took the witness stand Tuesday to answer charges that he embezzled public funds. Craig A. Rogers, 40, the former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, which is affiliated with the College of Engineering, faces six charges of misuse of state funds and obtaining property by false pretences. His trial opened Monday and is expected to wrap up today before Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs. On the stand Tuesday, Rogers detailed his personal history, often in a shaking voice, of growing up in rural Vermont and putting himself through a variety of degree programs. His voice broke as he spoke of his family, his divorce from his first wife and his marriage to his second wife. But Rogers was calm as he and defense attorney Jimmy Turk turned to the allegations. Rogers' defense includes alleged mistakes in the reams of paperwork admitted into evidence and statements that university officials were aware of his actions and never told him he was doing anything wrong. For example, prosecutors from the attorney general's office allege when scientists came to Virginia Tech in 1994 to work on a smart material for Byelocorp Scientific Inc., the university spent more than $4,000 for supplies. That amount, they allege, was never billed back to Byelocorp. Instead, Rogers' private consulting firm, Paradigm Inc., collected $130,000 from Byelocorp. That money, Rogers testified, came from two private contracts Paradigm held with Byelocorp -- $100,000 to assist in marketing the material and $30,000 to build a machine to demonstrate how it worked. Byelocorp had no contract to pay anything to Virginia Tech and didn't, Rogers said. Students working through the center tried to manufacture the smart material with the assistance of scientists, and any projects done by students were funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office, he said. Rogers testified through the lunch hour, remarking to Turk during one recess, "This is hard." It got harder as prosecutors took up the questioning after lunch. The questions from Assistant Attorney General David Rigler grew more detailed, and their tone changed. An invoice Paradigm sent to Byelocorp charges the company $14,000 for a piece of exercise equipment modified to test the smart material as part of a student's project. Rogers said the invoice should have listed a "throttling device" he and other scientists built off-campus as part of his separate contract with Byelocorp. "Unlike other invoices, I knew that this invoice was not correct," Rogers told Rigler. Rogers said he signed it anyway. The other charges allege Rogers obtained an airline ticket and more than $200 in reimbursements to attend the 1996 NCAA tournament in Dallas; that he kept a check from a publishing company meant for Virginia Tech's services; and that he kept funds that should have gone to the university for two conferences he organized in 1994 and 1995. Rogers left Virginia Tech in 1996 to become dean of the College of Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He stepped down from that post the day after his indictment in Montgomery County. He has been teaching at the university since then. ************************************************* Thursday, April 20, 2000 Verdict expected today in Tech embezzlement case Craig Rogers apologized for laughing during the prosecution's closing arguments. The judge cleared the courtroom after the outburst. By SHAY WESSOL THE ROANOKE TIMES CHRISTIANSBURG -- With 2 days of testimony behind them, attorneys and a former Virginia Tech administrator accused of embezzling public funds must now wait for a judge to decide his fate. Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs heard closing arguments Wednesday in the case against Craig A. Rogers, the former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, who is charged with two counts of obtaining property by false pretense and four counts of misappropriation of state funds. Grubbs expects to deliver his verdict at 11 a.m. today . The small audience did not hear the final arguments because of an outburst from Rogers. As Assistant Attorney General David Rigler went through the early minutes of his closing, he remarked that if Byelocorp Scientific Inc., one the companies that worked through the center, was worried about the intellectual property rights, it should just "not tell anyone" about its projects. That brought a laugh from Rogers and several audience members seated behind him and caught the ire of Grubbs. The judge brought trial to a halt and ordered those who laughed, aside from Rogers, out of the courtroom during a 10-minute recess. When Grubbs returned to find that some of the people he had seen laughing were still seated in the gallery, he ordered everyone but a reporter out. Rogers, meanwhile, apologized to the judge, blaming his response on "nervous energy." In closing arguments, defense attorney Jimmy Turk told Grubbs Rogers can't be held responsible for the crimes because he was held to no policy at Virginia Tech on how money -- generated by grants and private donations -- was supposed to be spent. "If there are no policies in effect, who's to say who's right and who's wrong?" Turk asked. Rigler said employees, no matter where they work, should be able to use common sense to know not to steal from their employer or to user an employer's resources to turn a private profit. "That should not have to be written down," he said. ************************************************* Friday, April 21, 2000 Ex-official found guilty of 2 felonies; court dismisses 4 other charges Most felony charges against former research center director dismissed Judge finds Tech at fault A Virginia Tech spokesman said he found Judge Ray Grubbs' criticism of the university "difficult to believe." By SHAY WESSOL The Roanoke Times CHRISTIANSBURG -- A Montgomery County judge Thursday criticized Virginia Tech for a lack of clear-cut policies on how professors may spend money, and said that gave him no choice but to dismiss four of six felonies against a former research center director. Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs did find Craig Rogers guilty of two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses in connection with a 1996 trip to watch Virginia Tech play an NCAA basketball game. But on a motion by defense attorneys, Grubbs took the two charges under advisement until a sentencing hearing June 21. That leaves Rogers' fate in limbo -- he could be formally found guilty or ordered to perform some service in lieu of a conviction. Grubbs called the remaining four charges of misuse of state funds "troublesome," citing Tech's lack of guidelines on how money is to be spent. The charges involved money connected to two conferences Rogers organized, a check from a publishing company to repay Virginia Tech, and money exchanged between Rogers' private company and another company that conducted research using university facilities. The evidence showed that Rogers, former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, did something wrong, Grubbs said. But without a policy it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rogers' actions were criminal, the judge added. "To believe Dr. Rogers, he did what everyone else at the university has done," Grubbs said. The judge offered harsh words to Virginia Tech, saying it "has a responsibility to the taxpayers of this commonwealth and to those who give private funds to properly administer those funds." The system in place when Rogers was there was a "failure and completely ineffective," Grubbs said. Tech spokesman Larry Hincker took issue with the judge's opinion, noting that Grubbs reached his conclusion without testimony from any of Tech's chief financial officers. "I find it difficult to believe that anyone could say, without hearing from someone who is responsible for these things, that Virginia Tech's system was a failure and completely ineffective," Hincker said. Hincker said Rogers exploited a system in which research center directors are granted "a great deal of personal trust" and are expected to perform with integrity. "It was Craig Rogers who made the decision to interrelate his responsibilities as a research center director with the responsibilities of his private company," he said. Hincker said Tech routinely receives "a clean bill of health" from state auditors, indicating the effectiveness of the university's accounting procedures. Hincker also took exception to suggestions that Rogers behaved no differently from his former colleagues. "It is a terrible mischaracterization to say that Craig Rogers did nothing different than anyone else at the university," Hincker said. "That's an affront to all the employees who work here." Defense attorney Jimmy Turk said the verdict came as a shock but attorneys must turn their attention to the sentencing hearing. "I obviously do not want him convicted of anything at all," Turk said. After 2 days of testimony and more than 70 documents entered as evidence, Grubbs found Rogers guilty for a trip taken to a basketball game in 1996. Rogers planned to attend a conference in Denver in March 1996. A week before his departure, he learned that Virginia Tech would be playing in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas. It was, Rogers testified, "a sign from God that I was supposed to be there." He had university staff reroute his plane ticket through Dallas and then attempted to set up meetings with Shriv Joshi, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, and Dan Barker, a former student working at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. Rogers flew to Dallas, took Barker to Tech's first-round basketball game, flew to Denver and then returned to Dallas to attend the second-round game with Barker. Rogers billed the university for the $377 plane ticket for the first leg of the trip and $209 in expenses racked up in Dallas. Those reimbursements resulted in the two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Rogers paid for the second leg of the trip himself. The meeting with Joshi couldn't be scheduled, but a travel voucher signed by Rogers says the expenses were for a meeting with Joshi. Rogers testified that a secretary made a mistake and he only glanced at the document before signing. Assistant Attorney General David Rigler charged that Rogers' actions were illegal because he planned business around the basketball game and misrepresented the trip on the travel voucher. "The purpose of the trip has to be to discuss business," Rigler said. "Dr. Rogers testified that the purpose of this trip was to go to a basketball game." But Turk argued that Rogers and Barker did discuss business during the game and that the university had no defined policy on travel expenses. A total amount allegedly misspent on all six charges wasn't calculated by the attorney general's office. Turk said it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 1996, Rogers became dean of the College of Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He resigned from that post in July, after his indictment, and has been teaching since. Any decision on Rogers' status at that university will be deferred until the sentencing hearing, said Jason Synder, a USC spokesman. "Until there is a more clear disposition of the case, the university has no comment," Synder said. Staff writer MICHAEL SLUSS contributed to this story. ************************************************* Sunday, April 23, 2000 Misuse of university funds demands a conviction Neither a professor's prestige nor concerns about Virginia Tech's financial guidelines should temper a judge's verdict. THE OUTCOME of an embezzlement trial against a Virginia Tech professor Thursday is troubling for two reasons: First, it raises questions about Virginia Tech's financial oversight of its staff and its prestigious research centers. Second, the judge's postponement of the professor's conviction creates the sense of a dual standard of justice: one for a professor who illegally obtains money and another for those who take money the old-fashioned way. After hearing a tangled tale of conference monies and travel vouchers, Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs found former Tech professor Craig Rogers guilty of two counts, but he also issued a scathing criticism of the university's lack of financial checks and balances. Grubbs called Tech's accounting system a "failure and completely ineffective" and said that he could not convict Rogers of additional charges because of the lack of financial guidelines. In the university's defense, however, its own auditing procedures uncovered Rogers' questionable movement of monies between his own company and university accounts as well as illegal travel billings. Tech also heeded Rogers' case as a wake-up call and strengthened its internal auditing, increased the responsibility of department heads and deans for monitoring faculty spending and bolstered staff training on financial accountability. Rogers' case is distinctive for his visibility as former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures and for the amount of dollars in question -- at least $100,000. It is not unique, however; several other professors are now under investigation. With 3,000 faculty and researchers and 3,000 support staff on the payroll, Tech is a megabusiness that sadly must check, rather than trust, that its employees are honest. At the sentencing hearing in June, the judge should formally convict Rogers. It strains credulity to think that an engineering genius could not tell when he was misusing university money. Neither Rogers nor the judge should be allowed to excuse his financial sleights of hand because "everyone else at the university has done it." If courts swallowed that defense, few would ever be convicted of financial crimes. Failure to convict also would bolster in the minds of less prestigious defendants the public perception of one standard of justice for the well-to-do and another for the poor. For Tech, this sorry story of misused funds and misplaced trust is a caution that it must renew its diligence to make its financial policies absolutely clear to all employees and to mind the public's money. Only by communicating and enforcing tight financial oversight can Tech ensure that its employees understand those boundaries and that anyone ignoring them can be successfully prosecuted. **************************************************** Thursday, August 24, 2000 He must pay restitution Ex-Tech professor convicted, put on probation "It comes down to the fact that the acts ... were intentional," Judge Ray Grubbs told Craig Rogers. By SHAY WESSOL The Roanoke Times CHRISTIANSBURG - An unblemished background couldn't save a former Virginia Tech research center director on Wednesday from two felony convictions, a probation term and an order to pay restitution to the university. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs decided after a four-day trial April that the evidence was enough to show that Craig Rogers was guilty of two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses but deferred an actual conviction until a sentencing hearing. On Wednesday, Grubbs ruled that Rogers knew what he was doing when he took a 1996 trip to Dallas to watch Virginia Tech play an NCAA basketball game. That, Grubbs said, left him no choice but to convict. He sentenced Rogers, the former director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, to three years of probation and to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to Virginia Tech. "It comes down to the fact that the acts ... were intentional," Grubbs said. "They were not inadvertent as you have maintained." Rogers spent 15 years on the faculty at Virginia Tech, where he earned his master's and doctoral degrees. He was a professor of mechanical engineering and became founding director of Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures in 1988. He left Tech in August 1996 to take over as dean of the College of Engineering at the University of South Carolina. Rogers planned to attend a conference in Denver in March 1996. A week before his departure, he learned that Virginia Tech would be playing in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas and decided to adjust his schedule to fly to Texas, try to meet with a former student and attend the game. He billed the university for a $377 plane ticket for the first leg of the trip and $209 in expenses. Rogers maintained his innocence throughout his trial and sentencing. Assistant Attorney General David Rigler said Rogers' "breach of trust" with taxpayer money was more important than the actual dollar amount of the crime. "In light of the court's findings, he's never once said, 'Yes, I did that. I'm sorry.' He blames everyone else," Rigler told the court. Defense attorney Jimmy Turk asked Grubbs to keep the charges under advisement without a conviction while Rogers completed a probation term. He argued that Rogers' "pristine" background report showed a man "who had tried to live a decent life" and the court shouldn't destroy his future with a felony conviction. "I'm not asking you to do anything out of the ordinary. I'm asking you to do what's fair in this particular case," Turk said. Rogers' pre-sentence report contained several letters of recommendation, including one from the governor of South Carolina. Rogers resigned as dean of USC's College of Engineering in July 1999, after he was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury, and has been teaching since. Rogers had been charged with six felonies: two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and four charges of misuse of state funds. But Grubbs dismissed the other four charges citing Virginia Tech's lack of guidelines on how money is to be spent. A Tech spokesman questioned that characterization, noting that Grubbs heard only from Rogers and his lawyer and never asked university officials about their policies. Instead, Rogers exploited a system in which research center directors are trusted to perform with dignity, the spokesman said. In June the Tech Board of Visitors adopted a new policy to require strict disclosure requirements and more administrative oversight for professors who launch their own companies or work as consultants. An official said the policy was not prompted by the Rogers case, but should help prevent future abuses.