Thomas John Muza admitted to stealing $240,000 from the famous musical comedy group.
TRENTON - The former accountant for the Triangle Club of Princeton University was sentenced to prison Friday for embezzling $240,000 from the famous musical comedy group.
Thomas John Muza, 57, was sentenced to three years for second degree theft by unlawful taking by Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Lydon in Mercer County.
Muza, of Hightstown, admitted to stealing the funds from January 2008 to February 2013, authorities said, and repaid $200,000 of the stolen funds at a sentencing hearing Friday.
The troupe, founded in 1891, is the oldest touring college comedy group in the U.S., with notable members including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jimmy Stewart and Brooke Shields.
Thomas Muza Muza had been serving as their part-time accountant since 1993 -- a job for which he was paid $4,000 a year. He also worked as general manager at the McCarter Theatre, a nonprofit venue on campus.
He was fired in May 2013, when the group's attorneys noticed discrepancies in their bank accounts and reported them to police.
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An investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice with help from the Princeton University Police Department revealed Muza had written Triangle Club checks directly to himself, cashing them or depositing them into his personal bank account.
Authorities said he used the money to make mortgage payments and pay credit card and utility bills.
Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said Muza's theft was "not a one-time lapse; he had his hand in the till over and over again in the course of five years."
Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said Muza "must pay back every dollar" of the stolen funds.
In a statement released Friday evening, the troupe's chairman, Marc Segan, thanked the state for helping recoup most of the money Muza had stolen.
"We are also deeply grateful to our loyal alumni, who have expressed concern and various forms of support in the months since this news first broke," Segan said, noting that the club's next show will premiere at McCarter Theatre next month.
Muza's attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment Friday.
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