A former payroll manager at the Art Institute of Chicago was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty for misappropriating more than $2 million in museum funds over a 12-year period.
Michael Maurello, 56, of Beach Park, was visibly distressed in federal court Thursday as he spoke of his remorse for embezzling money and affecting his former colleagues and employer who were “good to him.”
“I truly apologize for what I did,” Maurello said. “The Art Institute was good to me, and I took advantage of that.”
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah ordered that Maurello’s prison time be followed by three years of supervised release and he would be held responsible for roughly $2.3 million in restitution to the museum.
In sentencing, Shah said Maurello stole money in a way that required effort and skill and broke the “basic trust that keeps society from falling into anarchy.”
Maurello falsified payments to employees and funneled museum payroll into his personal bank accounts from 2007 to 2020, according to a plea agreement filed in April. He admitted to keeping spreadsheets and notes to track the embezzled funds so later he could make reversals in the museum payroll system.
[ Former Art Institute employee pleads guilty in $2 million payroll embezzlement scheme ]
The recommended minimum sentence for the fraud charge is more than four years. However, Maurello’s attorney, Frank Cece Jr., argued for a shorter sentencing due to Maurello’s health issues, spanning back to his late teens when he broke his neck. Since the investigation began, Maurello was forced to have his leg amputated and was fitted with a prosthetic below the knee after contracting gangrene
Maurello appeared in court Thursday without his prosthetic leg, with his brother pushing his wheelchair into the courtroom. Since the charges were filed against him, Maurello has been living in an assisted living facility after his husband of 20 years left him and his family will not care for him in their homes, court documents say.
In recommending “substantial” prison time and restitution, Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Rubenstein said Maurello’s criminal actions harmed the Art Institute, a not-for-profit public institution, beyond theft and insurance since the museum relies on reputation and public trust for donations to fund its mission.
Maurello did not need the money and used much of it for extravagant purchases, such as trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas and buying jewelry, prosecutors argued in court documents.
“He did it simply because he could,” Rubenstein said.
While Rubenstein acknowledged the museum would most likely not suffer substantially due to its long-standing national reputation, he said the crimes harm public trust and that Maurello did not take previous chances to admit wrongdoing.
When the museum’s assistant controller asked Maurello in January 2020 about one of the payments, Maurello falsely stated that the transaction had been a test of the payroll system, according to charges.
Prosecutors also argued Maurello has had the chance to pay back some of the money he embezzled since the investigation began. Cece previously said Maurello was hesitant to pay restitution before sentencing.
His brother, William, spoke highly of Maurello in court to Shah, stating that he was a supportive figure in their family’s lives, especially after his wife died.
“While I can’t speak to his decisions, I can speak to his character,” William Maurello said of his brother. “He is the kindest person I’ve ever known and he was around for my two kids after my wife died.”
Cece said that since the investigation began, Maurello “lost everything” in his life, including his job and his husband.
“He has disintegrated into the shell of a former man,” Cece said.
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Shah recommended a medical center for Maurello’s time in prison to address his attorney’s concerns about the difficulty he could face in jail due to his physical health.
Maurello was ordered to surrender on Feb. 8 and to not dissipate funds in his retirement savings account besides daily living expenses, which Cece said was roughly $2,500 each month. Bank statements submitted to the court showed more than $400,000 in Maurello’s retirement savings, prosecutors said.
A native of the south suburbs, Maurello started working at the Art Institute in 2001 after graduating college with an accounting degree, according to court documents. With its famous 1894 bronze lions decorating the exterior, the Art Institute at 111 S. Michigan Ave. holds nearly 300,000 artworks from all over the world.
[ Former Art Institute employee charged in $2 million embezzlement scheme ]
Following Maurello’s indictment last January, the Art Institute said in a written statement that the fraud was first revealed in 2019 after a review of financial control procedures found “unusual account activity.” The museum terminated Maurello for cause, and the matter was immediately referred to law enforcement, according to the statement.
Since then, the Art Institute has “implemented additional controls and procedures to help detect and prevent any future malfeasance,” according to the statement, and losses are being recovered through insurance.
Maurello isn’t the first employee of one of Chicago’s famed museums to recently be accused of stealing.
In 2017, Caryn Benson, a former data specialist at the Field Museum, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for stealing nearly $1 million from museum coffers and using it to fund a “lavish lifestyle,” including luxury cars and jewelry and even to pay rent for a friend’s South Side apartment.
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