Massachusetts

Former UMass Lowell Office Manager Pleads Guilty to Stealing $217K

The former office manager at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell's recreation center has abruptly pleaded guilty to stealing about $217,000 from the facility.

The Sun reports that 55-year-old Denise Daly changed her plea Thursday, even as a jury deliberated for the fourth day following a weeklong trial.

Prosecutors say from 2008 until 2013 Daly was responsible for accepting cash payments for things like locker fees and towel rentals and then depositing that cash into the proper university accounts. Authorities say she kept some of the money because her family was struggling and then fixed the books to cover her tracks.

Her attorney said there was no evidence that pointed to his client and suggested other people were responsible for the thefts.

She faces sentencing Monday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us