STEUBENVILLE -- A Jefferson County grand jury returned indictments Wednesday against former Eastern Gateway Community College President Jimmie Bruce and former Vice President and Chief of Staff Jim Miller, charges stemming from allegations they used college credit cards for purchases not related to the operations of the school.
Grand jurors ordered Bruce and Miller, 44, to each stand trial on six felony charges--grand theft, theft in office, telecommunications fraud, misuse of credit cards and having an unlawful interest in a public contract -- plus two additional misdemeanor counts each of misuse of credit cards and having an unlawful interest in a public contract.
The seven-count indictment naming Bruce, 54, who now lives in Youngstown, alleges he spent $32,704 in public funds from Oct. 1, 2015, through Nov. 30, 2019, "without consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent."
Miller's seven-count indictment alleged he spent $10,415 in EGCC funds during a 15-month period beginning July 1, 2018.
The alleged inappropriate expenditures came to light during a routine internal audit of the college's financial activities for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 that "flagged alleged irregularities involving purchasing cards," EGCC officials had said at the time. Their concerns were relayed to the state auditor, whose team launched a deep dive into the college's finances.
In a release issued Wednesday afternoon, state Auditor Keith Faber said his Special Investigations Unit "ultimately identified 205 credit card transactions totaling more than $28,757 that were not related to the operations of the college." Special prosecutors representing SUI presented the case to grand jurors, but declined comment Wednesday afternoon.
EGCC spokesman Dennis Willard said that the school, which has campuses in Steubenville and Youngstown, takes the charges "against our former president and former chief of staff who left the college in 2019 very seriously, and we will respect the legal process with the understanding that our great judicial system is predicated on the idea that you are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"We have a new president, John Crooks, who officially became the leader of Eastern Gateway on Friday," he added, "and we are positioning the community college for the Ohio and Mahoning valleys to continue to put our students first, support our dedicated and talented faculty and staff, and help our enrollees pursue their dream of a higher education degree at the lowest cost possible,"
Bruce and Miller, a resident of Wintersville, had been placed on administrative leave on Jan. 7, 2020. Weeks later, both were fired, with the board of trustees at the time citing "dereliction of duty and inappropriate management" as the cause of Bruce's termination.
But three months later, opting to avoid the "ongoing, costly litigation" that a lawsuit would have entailed, the board agreed to pay Bruce his full $250,000 annual salary plus medical, dental and vision benefits through June 30, 2021, along with $5,000 per year in deferred compensation.
Neither Bruce nor Miller could be reached for comment Wednesday evening. They are scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 23 in front of Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller.