The former principal of a northwest suburban middle school was charged with theft and forgery for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from bank accounts he oversaw as part of his job.
On July 31, administrators at Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 officials notified police about “possible mismanagement and theft of funds from various non-district bank accounts,” a statement from Woodstock police said.
The accounts handled money for the Parent Teacher Organization and Fox Valley Junior High School Conference.
Investigators found that Jerome “Jake” Wakitsch, former principal of Northwood Middle School in Woodstock, “unlawfully withdrew several thousands of dollars from the two bank accounts,” police said.
On numerous occasions from February 2014 to June 2015, the 41-year-old Wakitsch took money from the accounts, which he maintained, and used it “for personal gain,” police said.
On Sept. 1, an arrest warrant was issued for Wakitsch, charging two counts of theft over $500, and one count of forgery, all felonies. The latter charge alleges he forged the signature of another authorized user on checks for the PTO account which required two signatures to cash, police said.
Wakitsch, of the 800 block of Robert Drive in Woodstock, immediately turned himself in, and was released after paying 10 percent of a $20,000 bond. His next court date will be Sept. 15 in Woodstock.
