The Alpha Theta House Corporation filed a lawsuit in February against Bruce McAllister '54 Tu'58, and his wife Judith McAllister, alleging that Bruce McAllister stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fraternity during the three years he served as the corporation's treasurer, according to Nicolas Burke, Alpha Theta co-ed fraternity's attorney.
Bruce McAllister was removed as treasurer of Alpha Theta in February, after officials discovered that McAllister had written checks to himself, his wife and his business the Sugartop Sawmill in Post Mills, Vt. out of Alpha Theta's savings, according to Burke. At the time, officials discovered that Alpha Theta had $98.92 in its bank account.
Alpha Theta officials are still determining the precise amount of money McAllister took from Alpha Theta's account, Burke said.
Its Corporation had collected $119,000 in alumni donations by last May, according to the Corporation's Spring 2010 newsletter.
If Alpha Theta wins the lawsuit, McAllister will be "obligated to pay the judgment," according to Burke.
The court is currently setting up a discovery schedule the process during which evidence is collected for the case. The trial is unlikely to occur before six months to a year, according to Burke.
"Unfortunately, the court systems are under the same budget constraints as anywhere else, so cases are taking a long time," Burke said.
Burke said he is not currently working toward an out-of-court settlement with McAllister.
"If it could be settled that would be terrific, and if not we'll go to trial," he said. "I think we need to learn more about the whole situation before we'd be in a position to talk about settlement."
After McAllister's removal, Ann Suchoza McDonough '87 was appointed the new treasurer of Alpha Theta by Alpha Theta Corporation, according to Burke.
McDonough declined to comment for this article.
Burke said Alpha Theta's loss of funds would not affect the house or the College.
"I'm told by my client that it will have no direct day-to-day impacts on the fraternity or the students at Dartmouth," Burke said.
Frank Olmstead, McAllister's attorney, has maintained that his client is not guilty, according to the Valley News. Olmstead declined to comment for this article.
The Meccawe Club, a private fishing club in Vermont, also filed a similar lawsuit against McAllister in February, Terry Boone, president of the Meccawe Club, said in an email to The Dartmouth. Meccawe filed its case against McAllister, who served as its financial manager, in order to "obtain possession of all of its financial records, to receive an accounting of club funds and to recover any funds that were not used for club purposes," Boone said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Meccawe discovered that McAllister used several thousands of dollars from the Meccawe's accounts, writing 13 checks to himself, six checks to his wife, seven checks to Sugartop Sawmill, and three checks to Alpha Theta over the course of three years, according to the Valley News.
Meccawe will be able to continue operating as normal, and its Board of Directors has no doubts that it will survive in the future, according to Boone.
McAllister and officials at Sugartop Saw Mill could not be reached for comment. Members of Alpha Theta declined to comment, citing the pending legal investigation.
