Community Shocked by Accusation of Theft

Although she's keeping a low profile this year, Natalie J. Szekers '97 is at the center of a storm of controversy.

And friends, former colleagues and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office have some questions they'd like her to answer.

Szekeres, a former treasurer of the Currier House Committee, is being charged with embezzling $7,550 from that organization. Police say there are no other explanations for how the money disappeared.

Most of the biology concentrator's friends won't comment on the investigation; but those who will talk say that they can't fathom why Szekeres would possibly steal money.

Szekeres herself doesn't appear to be responding to the charges. On leave from school in Landover, Md. this year, Szekeres did not return repeated phone calls to her residence. Police say she's even dodging criminal investigators, refusing to respond to letters and phone calls by the Harvard Police Department sent over the last three months.

And as the district attorney prepares to prosecute her, Szekeres' case has renewed debate about how much Harvard can trust its students to handle large quantities of money.

A Gloomy Chain of Events

Last semester, with Szekeres absent, Zachary T. Buchwald '96 filled in for her as the house committee's treasurer. It was then that he discovered discrepancies between what he remembered the committee's financial situation to be and what its records showed.

According to Harvard Police Detective Dennis M. Maloney, Buchwald reported the missing funds to John D. Stubbs '80, Currier's Allston Burr senior tutor. Stubbs notified Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68, who in turn informed the Harvard Police and the Middlesex County District Attorney.

Maloney's investigation revealed that the Currier House Committee was missing about $15,000.

Maloney says there are no other suspects besides Szekeres.

Szekeres is not being charged with stealing the full amount because the committee's records--often handwritten, photo copied or simply check-marked to signify that an amount had been paid--would not hold up as evidence in court.

But the paper trail police did manage to uncover points clearly to Szekeres, according to Maloney.

"We have evidence that shows that the checks actually went into her own personal accounts," he says.

On February 6, the police presented some of that evidence at a show cause hearing in Middlesex District Court.

There, the court clerk decided there was "probable cause," according to District Attorney Martin F. Murphy, and an arraignment date was set for March 8.

Szekeres didn't show up to the February hearing, but is required by law to attend the arraignment. There, she will be formally charged with one count of larceny over $250 by single scheme and will officially enter a plea.

By law, the case will go to court within 100 days of the arraignment. It is up to Szekeres whether the judge or a jury will decide the case.

If she is found guilty, she would face a maximum punishment of up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $25,000, according to Murphy.

In addition, the court can order her to pay restitution to the house committee in the amount that it can be proven she embezzled.

Shocked by the Accusation

Those who know Szekeres say they're surprised that she's being accused of a crime and that she's taking a leave of absence this year. And her close friends--who may know the real explanation--aren't talking.

"Anyone who might have known Natalie would have difficulty thinking that was possible," says Sandra E. Whitten, Szekeres' Advanced Placement senior English teacher at Holmdel High School in Holmdel, N.J.

The daughter of a doctor and an international businessperson who travels frequently, Szekeres had no apparent financial problems, her friends say.

In fact, her former teacher says Szekeres came to develop a strong appreciation of her station in life.

Whitten remembers Szekeres telling her of a trip her family took to visit relatives in Hungary. After the vacation, Szekeres remarked to her teacher that she was taken aback by the discrepancies between Hungary's standard of living and America's.

"She found that a lot of what we take for granted in the U.S. is different for people there, [and that] Americans are really quite fortunate in what we have here," Whitten recalls.

During her time at Harvard, Szekeres built a reputation for house spirit and involvement in house life, according to those who know her.

In fact, her friend and high school classmate Mark R. Freeman '97 says he used to tease her about how seriously she took her position as treasurer of the Currier House Committee.

Szekeres was also treasurer of the Crimson Dance Team last spring, an organization which has had no financial difficulties of its own, according to Captain Roxanne S. Pan '96.

"It never would've crossed my mind that she would have done something like that," Freeman says. "I don't know what to think now. I'm not passing judgment."

Pan says Szekeres spoke of academic difficulties last spring, and eventually told her that she was taking time off because of poor grades.

But friends say that Szekeres certainly didn't have the heart to commit the crime she's being charged with.

Whitten, for one, praises Szekeres' personal qualities.

"She was very conscientious, quiet, thoughtful, hardworking," Whitten says. "She [challenged] herself to do well, in her dance, which was very important to her, as well as in her academics."

According to Whitten, Szekeres inherited a strong sense of personal integrity from her parents.

At a high school which was recognized by New Jersey's governor last year for having the highest SAT scores in the state, Szekeres stood out as a "very good school citizen," Whitten recalls.

In the suburban town with a growing population of about 10,000, the high school has "a lot of good kids" and gets positive results because of "concerned families and what the school system can do," Whitten says.

Looking back on evenings he spent at the Szekeres' home during high school, Freeman also remembers that their family--her mother, father, a sister three years younger and Natalie--seemed fulfilled.

"[Her mother] is a wonderful woman, one of the best friend's mothers I know," he says. "Even if the whole crowd showed up at 11 o'clock at night, she'd get out a bag of popcorn for us."

Freeman says he can't comprehend what could have driven Szekeres to commit a crime.

"If she did do it," he says, "I don't know what kind of pressures were on her, but I really have no idea."

The Questions Facing Harvard

The Szekeres case is just the latest in a string of recent embezzlement allegations at Harvard.

The case occurs just one year after Charles K. Lee '93 and David G. Sword '93 admitted in court that they stole more than $125,000 from An Evening With Champions, an Eliot House ice skating benefit.

It also comes a year after the general manager of the Krokodiloes was forced to resign after he apparently used $3,000 of the group's funds on personal expenses. In addition, last year's president and business manager of the Yearbook were forced to step down because of spending abuses.

And while the outcome of the Szekeres case is out of Harvard's hands, the University must confront how to oversee student-run organizations.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 acknowledges that if this case falls into the pattern of student embezzlement formed over the last two years, "there may be practical things that can be done to make it harder [to write checks out of organizations' treasuries]."

House committee chairs interviewed say they effectively have free reign over their spending, and are not audited by the University or house masters.

In the meantime, a subcommittee of the College's Committee on House Life is gathering evidence for a general review of house committee policies, according to Cabot House Master Jurij Striedter.

Striedter would not comment on whether any kind of changes to house committee spending policies are in the works

The daughter of a doctor and an international businessperson who travels frequently, Szekeres had no apparent financial problems, her friends say.

In fact, her former teacher says Szekeres came to develop a strong appreciation of her station in life.

Whitten remembers Szekeres telling her of a trip her family took to visit relatives in Hungary. After the vacation, Szekeres remarked to her teacher that she was taken aback by the discrepancies between Hungary's standard of living and America's.

"She found that a lot of what we take for granted in the U.S. is different for people there, [and that] Americans are really quite fortunate in what we have here," Whitten recalls.

During her time at Harvard, Szekeres built a reputation for house spirit and involvement in house life, according to those who know her.

In fact, her friend and high school classmate Mark R. Freeman '97 says he used to tease her about how seriously she took her position as treasurer of the Currier House Committee.

Szekeres was also treasurer of the Crimson Dance Team last spring, an organization which has had no financial difficulties of its own, according to Captain Roxanne S. Pan '96.

"It never would've crossed my mind that she would have done something like that," Freeman says. "I don't know what to think now. I'm not passing judgment."

Pan says Szekeres spoke of academic difficulties last spring, and eventually told her that she was taking time off because of poor grades.

But friends say that Szekeres certainly didn't have the heart to commit the crime she's being charged with.

Whitten, for one, praises Szekeres' personal qualities.

"She was very conscientious, quiet, thoughtful, hardworking," Whitten says. "She [challenged] herself to do well, in her dance, which was very important to her, as well as in her academics."

According to Whitten, Szekeres inherited a strong sense of personal integrity from her parents.

At a high school which was recognized by New Jersey's governor last year for having the highest SAT scores in the state, Szekeres stood out as a "very good school citizen," Whitten recalls.

In the suburban town with a growing population of about 10,000, the high school has "a lot of good kids" and gets positive results because of "concerned families and what the school system can do," Whitten says.

Looking back on evenings he spent at the Szekeres' home during high school, Freeman also remembers that their family--her mother, father, a sister three years younger and Natalie--seemed fulfilled.

"[Her mother] is a wonderful woman, one of the best friend's mothers I know," he says. "Even if the whole crowd showed up at 11 o'clock at night, she'd get out a bag of popcorn for us."

Freeman says he can't comprehend what could have driven Szekeres to commit a crime.

"If she did do it," he says, "I don't know what kind of pressures were on her, but I really have no idea."

The Questions Facing Harvard

The Szekeres case is just the latest in a string of recent embezzlement allegations at Harvard.

The case occurs just one year after Charles K. Lee '93 and David G. Sword '93 admitted in court that they stole more than $125,000 from An Evening With Champions, an Eliot House ice skating benefit.

It also comes a year after the general manager of the Krokodiloes was forced to resign after he apparently used $3,000 of the group's funds on personal expenses. In addition, last year's president and business manager of the Yearbook were forced to step down because of spending abuses.

And while the outcome of the Szekeres case is out of Harvard's hands, the University must confront how to oversee student-run organizations.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 acknowledges that if this case falls into the pattern of student embezzlement formed over the last two years, "there may be practical things that can be done to make it harder [to write checks out of organizations' treasuries]."

House committee chairs interviewed say they effectively have free reign over their spending, and are not audited by the University or house masters.

In the meantime, a subcommittee of the College's Committee on House Life is gathering evidence for a general review of house committee policies, according to Cabot House Master Jurij Striedter.

Striedter would not comment on whether any kind of changes to house committee spending policies are in the works