Investigations lead to arrests of 2 former Winthrop employees

By Claire Byun

byunc@thejohnsonian.com

Above: George Walker. Dave Rentschler’s photo could not be obtained at press time. Both Walker and Rentschler, both former Winthrop employees, were charged with breach of trust.Two separate investigations that began in the spring of 2010 have ended in the arrests of two former Winthrop employees.

George Walker  was arrested Thursday on charges of embezzlement, procuring university credit card charges totaling $209,370.

Walker, former printing services employee, turned himself in to the police after a several-month-long investigation. Walker was charged with two counts of breach of trust totaling more than $5,000 for mishandling a Winthrop credit card.

Because the case has not gone to court yet, chief of Campus Police Frank Zebedis is not authorized to share evidence.

The Winthrop University Police Department is the arresting agency and the York County Solicitor’s Office will be the prosecuting agency.

Winthrop discovered the credit card misuse when the budget office noticed increased costs in the printing office during a time when university offices were supposed to be reducing costs, a Winthrop release said.

Though Walker supervised the audit of the shop, it was revealed someone was defrauding the university through a PayPal account, according to a police report.

Walker resigned in April after working for Winthrop for 10 years.

Walker’s attorney, Harry P. Collins of Rock Hill, said he thinks Walker will attempt to correct the wrongs he might have committed.

“If any evidence shows any wrongs, I’m sure Mr. Walker will do everything he can to correct it,” Collins said.

Zebedis said he thinks Walker will coordinate with the police, but some questions still need to be answered.

Though a court date has not been set, Collins requested a preliminary hearing and thinks it will be set sometime in October.

Walker is now looking for another job because he is no longer employed at Winthrop, Collins said.

In a second, but unrelated case, Dave Rentschler was arrested Monday, September 13, on charges of breach of trust over $5000, according to an arrest warrant.

Rentschler was under investigation for misallocating proceeds raised from the sale of scrap metal, and the case has been under investigation since early July.

“That between dates (April 7, 2008) and (February 26, 2010) the defendant while acting as Winthrop University’s Facility Management Supervisor did receive funds in excess of $5000 for the sale of surplus materials which were the property of Winthrop University and converted said funds to personal use,” the official affidavit stated.

The affidavit was signed on Friday, Sept. 10, and Rentschler was arrested three days later.

After review of approximately three years worth of business records, Assistant Police Chief Ken Scoggins and State Law Enforcement Division found that Rentschler was the “seller of much of this property” and the cash proceeds were “paid to the delivery person in each case,” the police report states.

“No record exists that Rentschler ever reported the sale of the property or turned in the proceeds to university officials,” according to the report.

The police report indicated that the scrap metal was sold at Smith Metal and Iron on Glen Hope Road in Rock Hill.

Rentschler was released from York County Detention Center on Tuesday.