Chesco ex-athletic director pleads guilty to theft

The former athletic director in the Coatesville Area School District, accused of taking money from sporting events and spending it on gambling debts and luxury vehicles, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts.

James Donato, 51, at the center of a 2013 scandal involving racist and sexist text messages, had been charged with 139 misdemeanors and felonies in the theft scheme. He entered pleas to theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and conflict of interest.

His lawyer, Daniel Bush, said Donato "expressed to me that he apologizes to the people of the Coatesville Area School District."

"He's taking responsibility that there are a series of very low-level dollar-amount acts," said Bush, who added that the thefts totaled $15,000 over 41/2 years. "This is his acknowledgment of his wrongdoing involved with those acts."

The guilty plea at the Chester County Justice Center came 18 months after Donato and former Superintendent Richard Como were arrested and charged with theft and ethics offenses. The arrests culminated an 18-month investigation into district management and finances by the Chester County District Attorney's Office.

The men had resigned from the school district in 2013 after school officials found sexist and racist text-message exchanges about students and staff on their district-issued cellphones. Some text messages also referred to financial mismanagement. The revelations threw the school district into turmoil and deepened mistrust from which it is still attempting to recover.

Community protests, a new superintendent, new school board members, and monitoring by federal and state agencies followed the resignations.

Donato made no statement at Monday's hearing. Prosecutor Andrea Cardamone declined to comment.

Donato's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 12. Como is awaiting trial.

Prosecutors do not have a cooperation agreement with Donato to aid in the case against Como.

mbond@philly.com 610-313-8207

@MichaelleBond