A children's hospital official in central Illinois faces a charge of embezzling $500,000 from the institution since 2008, according to a published report.
Springfield police on Monday arrested Margaret "Peggy" Curtin, 55, executive director of St. John's Children's Hospital, according to the report in the State Journal-Register. She is in custody at the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bond, State's Attorney John Milhiser said in a news release Tuesday.
Curtin has been charged with felony theft after St. John's Hospital officials "discovered financial irregularities related to certain hospital operations and contacted law enforcement," the news release said. "St. John's Hospital officials are cooperating fully with law enforcement as they investigate the matter."
St. John's spokesman Brian Reardon said Curtin has been suspended without pay.
A phone message left at Curtin's home by The Associated Press wasn't immediately returned.
