Prosecutors say Sister Marie Thornton, the former Vice President of Finance at Iona College, has pled guilty to embezzling more than $850,000 from the college.

Said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, "This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house. Marie Thornton was entrusted with the financial well-being of Iona College, but instead she abused her access to cook the books and line her own pockets."

The embezzlement occurred between 1999 to May 2009.

After the money was stolen, the College issued a statement saying they took "immediate action to terminate" Thornton and put in place safeguards to prevent it from happening again.

As a result of her plea, the 63 year old Thorton faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. 

Sentencing is set for May 13. 

Iona College today announced the appointment of the school's eighth President.

Dr. Joseph E. Nyre will become the College's first lay president, succeeding Brother James Liguori who is completed his 17th year in the position.

Nyre is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hope Institute for Children and Families, headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, an organization that advances public policy, conducts research, links institutions of higher education and offers healthcare and educational services.

Chairman of Iona's Board of Legal Trustees, James Hynes noted that Dr. Nyre was selected from over 60 candidates. "We are very excited to be able to welcome Dr. Nyre. Dr. Nyre brings a unique background and special skill set to the position of president that we believe can take Iona to national prominence," said Hynes.

According to Iona College officials, Dr. Nyre transformed The Hope Institute for Children and Families into a nationally recognized institute serving 29,000 people annually and training more than 30,000 clinicians, physicians and teachers since 2003. 

The former Vice President of Finance of Iona College has been arrested and charged with embezzling more than $850,000  from the College over a ten year period.

Sister Marie E.Thorton surrendered this morning and was present in Manhattan federal Court where the charges were filed.

Thorton is accused of diverting more than $850,000 in College funds for her own personal use for such things as credit card bills and personal expenses by submitting false vendor invoices for reimbursement to Iona College. The alleged embezzlement occurred between 1999 to May 2009.

The latest poll in the New York State Senate 37th District race finds Republican candidate Bob Cohen gaining ground on longtime State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D,WF).

The RNN-TV/Westchester County Association Poll taken by Iona College  found Cohen closing in on Oppenheimer's lead from 10 to 6 percentage points since the previous poll that was taken October 13.

When asked whom they would vote for in the election, 48% of likely voters questioned said Oppenheimer, 42% said Cohen and 10% remain undecided.

Poll Coordinator with Iona College, Dr. Jeanne Zaino says "Given the margin of error of plus or minus 4% and the seeming trend of previously undecided voters moving towards cohen, we may wind up with closer race than first expected."

The poll included over 10,000 calls to registered voters on October 27.

The latest RNN-TV/Westchester County Association Poll taken by Iona College in the 19th Congressional District race still shows incumbent Congressman John Hall (D, WF) and Dr. Nan Hayworth(R,C) are in a dead heat.

The survey of likely voters found 44% of those questioned would vote for Hayworth, while 43% said John Hall. 13% of those questioned remained undecided. A previous poll had 42% of voters chosing Hayorth, 42% John Hall and 16% undecided.

Poll coordinator, Dr. Jeanne Zaino, with Iona College said "This is as close as it gets. Hayworth has inched ahead a bit with some previously undecideds going her way, but this is still anybody's race."

The poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 4 points.

A second poll taken in New York's 35th State Senate District race finds incumbent Democratic Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins maintaining a seven point lead over Republican challenger, Liam McLaughlin.

The latest  RNN-TV/Westchester County Association poll taken by Iona College finds among likely voters, 45% of people questioned said they'd vote for Stewart-Cousins, while 38% said McLaughlin.

17% remain undecided.

Dr. Jeanne Zaino, coordinator of the Iona College poll and professor of political science at the school, said "The large undecided proportion on this question indicates that there is considerable uncertainty in the voters' minds, which means both campaigns have a lot of convincing to do."

The Iona College poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.9%.

A new poll taken by Iona College and sponsored by the Westchester County Association and RNN-TV finds New York State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D,WF) leads challenger Bob Cohen (R,C,I) in the 37th District race by 10 percentage points.

The poll also showed 16% of likely voters questioned were undecided.

The 37th District is regarded as one of the key mid-term races in determining the future political balance of the New York State Senate. The disterict includes, Rye, New Rochelle, White Plains, Harrison, Mamaroneck New Castle, North Castle, Ossining and Scarsdale.

The poll has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.