Forensic accountant: MSSU instructor may have stolen more than $200,000

A forensic accountant hired by the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Canton, Ohio, former workplace of Missouri Southern State University accounting instructor Norman L. Katz, says Katz may have stolen more than $200,000 from the company. Of that total, only $129,000 could be proven definitely and that was the amount given when Katz entered his guilty plea.

Katz resigned in September 2007, shortly after he was confronted about the missing $30,000. Yut said he never explained why he took the money. As Katz’s scheme continued to unravel, the museum contacted authorities.


Canton Police Lt. John Gabbard and a forensic accountant hired by the museum began to put the puzzle together.

Yut said she can only guess how much money was stolen.

The forensic accountant determined that Katz took approximately $206,000. By necessity, that amount was based on estimates — two years of Katz’s time cards were missing — and prosecutors didn’t think that dollar figure would meet the burden of proof in a criminal trial.

In January, the defense and prosecution agreed to a $129,000 restitution order, with Katz getting probation and paying $85,000 within a month of pleading guilty to aggravated theft.