McDanels To Repay Money, Spend Time in Prison

Gregory McDanels pleaded guilty today to stealing money from his former employer, the Altenheim Skilled Nursing Facility.

As part of the plea arrangement, McDanels, the former executive director of the facility, agreed to repay $290,000 and to incarceration of two to three years, according to Ryan Miday, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason. The charge carries a maximum term of five years.

The length of the prison term will be decided April 15 by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan.

McDanels, 49, of Bay Village, was indicted on one count of theft, a third-degree felony, alleging he embezzled $500,000 between 2001 and 2008 by giving himself giving himself unauthorized bonuses, altering records and issuing unauthorized reimbursement checks.

The bulk of the offenses stem from using the company's credit card for personal expenses like car repairs and clothing, and forging checks to pay off personal debts, like credit card bills, Miday said.

He was also charged with stealing $4,100 from a resident fund, in which residents deposit money for themselves for expenses.

Most of the stolen money went for day-to-day expenses rather than lavish vacations and luxury items, authorities said. 

Detective Wayne Feuerstein, who handled the investigation for the Strongsville Police Department, said McDanels made personal purchases on company credit cards and paid off his own bills with corporate checks.

"He was using the credit card to make repairs on his car, buying filters for he furnace, working on his son's car, things like that," Feuerstein said.

Paul Psota, the current CEO at Altenheim, said the thefts were discovered after McDanels left his job in February 2009.