A former NIU administrator has pleaded guilty in connection with the recent coffee-fund investigation. Robert Albanese has struck a deal with prosecutors. Albanese is the former associate vice president of the Division of Finance and Facilities at NIU. He received 18 months of court supervision for pleading guilty to violating the state property act, which is a misdemeanor.
In exchange, several felony counts were dropped. Several employees were charged in connection with the coffee fund probe, which looked into allegations that university scrap metal was being sold without the school's knowledge.
Prior to the announcement of the investigation, Albanese had reached a separation agreement with NIU over allegations of misconduct.