http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/10/24/2008-10-24_6_yrs_for_911_embezzle_scheme-1.html

6 yrs. for 9/11 embezzle scheme

Friday, October 24th 2008, 11:18 PM

A Former employee of the city medical examiner's office was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for her role in a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars intended to help identify victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Rosa Abreu, 41, worked with her boyfriend, Natarajan Venkataram, in a ghoulish plot to steal $13 million from a project designed to speed the identification of bodies.

Abreu, who was the director of records at the medical examiner's office, pleaded guilty last fall to embezzlement, money laundering and conspiracy charges.

She and Venkataram steered government funds to overseas companies and bank accounts they controlled. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July after pleading guilty to similar charges.

Staff Report