Tag Archives: Robert Felner

Kentucky: U of L affirms one-semester doctoral degree

Courier-Journal: U of L to allow educator to keep doctoral degree

The University of Louisville announced today that it will allow a former school superintendent to keep a 2004 doctoral degree about which questions had been raised.

The announcement ends a more than eight-month-long review to determine whether the degree was improperly award to John Deasy, who now works for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Former U of L Education Dean Robert Felner, who is facing federal fraud charges in connection with the alleged misuse of federal grant money, was Deasy’s adviser and chairman of his dissertation committee.

Kentucky: Felner said he used grants to build up company

Courier-Journal: Felner said he used grants to build up company
Ex-dean spoke to investigators

Former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner told federal investigators last summer that he and an Illinois colleague used federal grant money to invest in properties around the country because they were trying to build up a nonprofit company that they had created for educational research, according to a 320-page transcript of the interview.

Felner and his colleague, Thomas Schroeder of Port Byron, Ill., both have pleaded not guilty to federal charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and defrauding the Internal Revenue Service.

Wisconsin: Parkside’s interim chancellor to leave after term ends

The Journal Times: Parkside’s interim chancellor to leave after term ends

SOMERS — University of Wisconsin-Parkside Interim Chancellor Lane Earns will not become Parkside’s next full-time chancellor.

He announced to students and faculty Friday that he will be returning to UW-Oshkosh after his term is done in June, according to a news release.

In Oshkosh he held the position of provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs.

Earns started as Parkside’s interim chancellor after Parkside’s intended next chancellor, Robert Felner, was indicted on charges of misusing federal grant money.

Kentucky: Court hears Felner’s interview

Courier-Journal: Court hears Felner’s interview
Defense seeks to block its use

During a six-hour-plus interview with federal investigators last summer, former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner went from being described as confident by investigators and a colleague to saying he was “freaked” and asking if he could go to jail.

“I’m starting to feel like I’m getting thrown under the bus,” Felner said in a tape-recorded conversation with investigators that was played in court today during a hearing to decide if comments he made during the interview can be used against him in a criminal trial.

Felner, 58, faces 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income-tax evasion after a federal grand jury indicted him in October.

A colleague, Thomas Schroeder, 51, of Port Byron, Ill., also is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

The indictment accuses the two of fraudulently obtaining nearly $2.3million in grant and contract money from UofL and the University of Rhode Island. Both pleaded not guilty in October and were released on unsecured bonds.

Kentucky: Glaring Error in the Robert Felner Audit at UofL

PageOneKentucky.com: Glaring Error in the Robert Felner Audit at UofL

In an email to the University of Louisville’s General Counsel, Provost Shirley Willihnganz and others on October 27, 2008, Larry Owsley wrote:

Kentucky: Prosecutors Oppose Separate Trial For Felner, Co-Defendant

WLKY.com: Prosecutors Oppose Separate Trial For Felner, Co-Defendant

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to deny a former University of Louisville educator’s request for a separate trial from his co-defendant in a fraud case against them.

University of Louisville: Financial Audit Update From Robert Felner Scandal, Open Records Request Fulfilled

PageOneKentucky.com: University of Louisville: Financial Audit Update From Robert Felner Scandal, Open Records Request Fulfilled
March 9th, 2009

Last Tuesday we discussed the financial audit of the University of Louisville’s College of Education and Human Development. That story revealed that UofL had not legally complied with our Open Records Request for a copy of the audit and we were reduced to linking to the audit’s executive summary, which was presented to the University’s Board of Trustees. Once that story went live, UofL’s legal counsel promptly and professionally complied by fulfilling our original request of the audit.

The Robert Felner Scandal and Internal Damage Control at the University of Louisville

PageOneKenutcky.com: The Robert Felner Scandal and Internal Damage Control at the University of Louisville
March 9th, 2009

More on the Robert Felner front at the University of Louisville. Along with previously mentioned Open Records Requests, we’ve finally received copies of late 2008 emails regarding the Felner scandal and what we deduce to being expected internal damage control and CYA.

Kentucky: Schroeder may seek to split his case from Felner’s in mail fraud, money-laundering, conspiracy and income-tax evasion trial

Courier-Journal: Schroeder may seek to split his case from Felner’s

The attorney for Thomas Schroeder, the Illinois man named as co-defendant in the criminal case against former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner, has filed a motion protecting his client’s right to request his case be tried separately from Felner’s.

Felner and Schroeder are accused of fraudulently obtaining nearly $2.3 million in grant and contract money from the universities of Louisville and Rhode Island.

Felner, 58, is facing 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering, conspiracy and income-tax evasion; a federal grand jury indicted him in October.

Schroeder, 51, of Fort Byron, Ill., also is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS.

U.S. Attorney: Former Dean ‘Not Intimidated’ During Questioning

WLKY.com: U.S. Attorney: Former Dean ‘Not Intimidated’ During Questioning

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — During seven hours of questioning, embattled former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner never once requested an attorney, nor was he ever read his miranda rights and placed under arrest, a motion filed by U.S. Attorney David Huber said.

Felner, and former associate Thomas Schroeder, face charges they fraudulently obtained more than $2 million in grant and contract money from the Universities of Louisville and Rhode Island.

Felner’s attorneys have filed a motion asking the judge to suppress statements he made to a U of L detective and a United States Postal Inspector. They argue that investigators illegally obtained the information during interviews at the College of Education on June 20, 2008.

Kentucky: Attorney’s Office Wants More Time In Felner Case

WLKY.com: Attorney’s Office Wants More Time In Felner Case

Robert Felner Faces Fraud Charges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The U.S. attorney’s office said it needs more time to prepare its case against a former University of Louisville dean accused of fraud.

Rhode Island/Kentucky: Indictment spurs URI to better deter fraud

Providence Journal: Indictment spurs URI to better deter fraud

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Two months after a former administrator at the University of Rhode Island was indicted on 10 federal fraud charges, URI officials say they are putting in place measures designed to prevent future fraud.

Robert Felner, a nationally known educator and founding director of URI’s School of Education, was indicted Oct. 22 in Louisville, Ky., on charges including mail fraud, conspiracy to embezzle and income tax evasion.

Kentucky: Motion made to exclude Felner statements

Courier-Journal: Motion made to exclude Felner statements

December 23, 2008

The lawyer for former education dean Robert Felner says federal authorities violated his client’s rights when they interrogated him for more than six hours at the University of Louisville in June.

As a result, attorney Scott C. Cox has filed a motion in U.S. District Court for Kentucky’s western district in Louisville asking that Felner’s statements during the interrogation be excluded from the case.

Felner, 58, is facing 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income-tax evasion, after a federal grand jury indicted him in October.

Kentucky: Loserville 2008

LEO Weekly: Loserville 2008

Remembering the year that should’ve been better

A STAFF REPORT

Welcome to our first Loserville Awards. Here you’ll find 50 ruminations on the past year of screw-ups, hack-jobs, short-fallers and people who’ve generally blown their public trust — and, incidentally, entered our lives in a sort of sideways, wholly unpleasant way. We criticize because we care, so if you find yourself on this list, the message to take away is simple: Do better.

Robert Felner and Thomas Schroeder

We weren’t sure how far the year’s most cartoonish villains could go; at the very least, former U of L Education Dean Robert Felner’s alleged embezzlement/homoerotic/tirades at students and co-workers/creepily beardless perp-walk fiasco certainly upped the ante for scandals in the ’Ville. Felner was indicted in October on 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income-tax evasion. Schroeder — Felner’s colleague and friend — was also charged in the conspiracy that included more than $2 million in grants fraudulently obtained though U of L. Thanks for the memories, Bob. Enjoy federal prison.

Penance: Reimbursement to students of all funds spent on classes featuring this dude.

U of L administration and public relations office

1. Robert Felner and how not to address a scandal with a public that is capable of reading/writing/speaking.

2. Patrick Henry Hughes and how not to treat a national icon bitter about an overzealous athletic department trying to control the pep band without making accommodations for Hughes and his father, who directs his wheelchair in band formations.

3. Mandatory Meal Plan and how not to treat students who’ve endured a decade of substantial tuition increases.

Penance: Go Cats?

Tennessee Takes First Annual ‘Turkey at the Top’ Award

HowTheUniversityWorks.com: Tennessee Takes First Annual ‘Turkey at the Top’ Award

Turkey at the top is always intensely competitive. This year’s contenders included first runner-up Robert Felner, the U of Louisville dean indicted for conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion in what the feds allege are repeated acts of embezzlement of grant monies amounting to over $2 million. Not content with these escapades, Felner racked up 31 grievances and complaints in his 5 years at the “U of L” but was consistently backed against the faculty by upper administration, especially Provost Shirley Willihnganz and President James Ramsey, who spent extravagantly on lawyers and consultants to prop up his administration despite what numerous accounts (including this one and others that I’ve privately confirmed) termed an “onslaught” of complaints from faculty, staff and students alleging “unsavory behavior, ranging from sexual harassment to workplace intimidation.” This pair continued the authoritarian regime of wall-to-wall administrative solidarity and secrecy established by their high-living predecessors, former provost Carol Garrison and former president John Shumaker—later found sharing lavish hotel rooms and limousines at public expense, while jetting to trysts in the University of Tennessee’s private plane.

Kentucky: Felner Investigation Continues At University Of Louisville

WLKY.com: Felner Investigation Continues At University Of Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — New information on the University of Louisville’s investigation into the actions of former dean Robert Felner has come to light.

On Wednesday, the university’s communications chief said committees continue to consider changes that could prevent similar financial fiascos from happening in the future.

Kentucky: Felner trial likely to be delayed

Courier-Journal: Felner trial likely to be delayed

The trial of former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner and his colleague Thomas Schroeder is expected to be delayed until next year after their attorneys filed motions seeking additional time to review the government’s evidence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Calhoun said in response to the motions that the government did not oppose the delay.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney David Huber said today that a new date has not been be set by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III. The current trial date is Dec. 22.

Motions filed by the defense indicated that the prosecution turned 17,299 pages of documents over to them this month, and more documents are expected in the coming weeks.

Kentucky/Illinois: Associate of indicted former dean pleads not guilty in conspiracy case

Courier-Journal: Schroeder pleads not guilty, released on bond

Thomas Schroeder, the Illinois man indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring with former University of Louisville dean Robert Felner to commit money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS, was arraigned this morning in federal court.

Schroeder, 58, of Fort Byron, Ill., turned himself into federal authorities at about 9 this morning.

David Mejia, Schroeder’s Louisville attorney, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client during the arraignment. Following the hearing, Mejia said Schroeder and his legal team “look forward to the day when his case will be presented to the jury.”

The Felner Chronicles

The Racine Post: The Felner Chronicles

The Felner Chronicles

The story of UW-Parkside’s almost-chancellor, Robert Felner — who was appointed to the position but resigned before his investiture — continues to play out in Louisville, where he has been indicted on multiple charges.

We’ll keep track of the unfolding story here, with links to the most important stories (most recent first); a cautionary tale for all, but especially those who serve on public search committees.