CHOP exec pleads guilty in $1.7M theft

With a dozen friends and relatives there as emotional support, Roosevelt Hairston Jr., 46, the former general counsel of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to stealing $1.7 million from the institution.

He could face six or more years in federal prison.

Hairston said little during the 45 minute hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel. He admitted to preparing of 126 fake invoices to obtain checks from CHOP that were sent to fake entities Hairston set up to launder the money for his own use.

His attorney, Howard Bruce Klein, of Philadelphia, took issue with one element: his client's use of a yacht. Klein said the vessel was largely used for hospital and charitable purposes that Hairston was involved in.

"He is not as portrayed, a greedy person," said Klein, "but devoted to the community." Klein said "the bulk of the money sent to finance two failed real estate investments, not a lavish lifestyle."

Hairston has agreed to pay $1.7 million in restitution to CHOP, and up to $1 million in back taxes. A precise figure will be determined by the IRS.

The the thefts first started in 1999 and stopped in 2003 when Hairston no longer controlled an account used to pay expert witnesses, according to the government. He resumed stealing money in 2007, and the scheme was discovered in 2010.

Hairston, 45, who lives with his wife and four daughters in a 7,000-square-foot home in Malvern, held various senior positions at Children's Hospital before becoming its general counsel a little more than a year ago.

About $250,000 was stolen before 2003, and the rest taken after 2007.