By George P. Hassett

Two former Tufts University employees were indicted Tuesday for allegedly stealing almost $1 million from the school and using the money to treat themselves to trips to Paris and Las Vegas, a Madonna concert and steaks.

Prosecutors allege Josephine Neally and Raymond Rodriguez, in separate schemes, stole $977,449 from student activities accounts between 1996 and 2007. Neally was the director of the university’s Office of Student Activities and Rodriguez was its budget and fiscal coordinator.

From 2005 to 2007, Raymond Rodriguez allegedly stole $604,873 from the school by opening up credit card accounts in the name of Tufts University and using them to pay for trips to Paris, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago and Montreal, according to authorities. He allegedly paid for the credit cards with checks drawn from the student activity account. Middlesex prosecutors said in addition to taking trips on the school’s dime, Rodriguez used Tufts money to buy tickets to see Madonna, Celine Dion, Rent and opera performances in concert.

He also allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on wallets, watches, handbags, shoes and electronics from high end retailers such as Gucci, Bloomingdale’s and Louis Vuitton.

Prosecutors said auditors discovered that Rodriguez wrote himself a check from a university account in the amount of $100,000. He then deposited that check into an account he opened in his name, and used the money to pay credit card bills, authorities said.

The schemes were first discovered by a member of the Tufts Internal Audit Department who had received an anonymous tip. Based on a follow-up investigation, it was determined that Nealley had control over bank accounts associated with the Office of Student Activities.

Nealley allegedly used one of these accounts to deposit student activity funds and would then transfer that money into her own personal bank accounts. She also used the account to withdraw cash and make personal purchases. Prosecutors said bank records indicate that Nealley used her bank card to make purchases at Foxwoods Resort and Casino, IKEA, Whole Foods, the Disney Store, Talbots and Omaha Steaks.

From 2001 to 2007, Nealley allegedly transferred $63,500 to her personal line of credit, $91,000 to her personal checking account and also withdrew $174,908 in cash. In total, she is alleged to have stolen $372,576 from the school through this scheme. She was not authorized to take or spend any of this money, according to authorities.

Tufts Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell said the school has changed how student activity funds are handled in the wake of the thefts.

‚ÄúWe have significantly improved student activities systems to prevent future incidents. We have also taken steps to assure that no student activities programs are adversely affected,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúWe appreciate the District Attorney’s commitment and cooperation. We are deeply disappointed that two individuals who were trusted by students and colleagues abused that trust.‚Äù

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said Neally and Rodriguez “abused the access that they were entrusted with to steal literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own personal use. They have violated the trust of the University and the students that they were supposed to help. We do want to commend the work of Tufts University for uncovering this scheme and for referring it to our office for a full investigation and prosecution.”

Neally and Rodriguez were each indicted for larceny over $250.