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Ex-UT employee accused of stealing
Former director may have pocketed up to $60,000 over 6 years
By Stephen Keller
Police believe that former UT assistant athletics director Douglas Wilson concealed $50,000 to $60,000 in missing entrance fees over the past six years from an annual high school track and field competition put on by the University.
Police searched Wilson's office on Feb. 8 and uncovered missing checks, cash, receipts and other records related to the Texas Relays, according to a search warrant obtained Friday. No new information has been released since Friday. Wilson has served as the director of Texas Relays since 1992 and is responsible for depositing all entrance fees into a UT account. Wilson resigned Thursday, said Don Hale, UT vice president for public affairs. "University offices and personnel are continuing to cooperate with the UT Police Department investigation that began last week," UT President William Powers said in a statement released Friday. UT internal auditors informed police that a recent audit showed that thousands of dollars were missing from the account, according to the warrant. The warrant said the auditors questioned Wilson on Feb. 1 about the money and that he grew "increasingly evasive" in his responses. "I am pleased that, when a possible problem with check deposits was reported by Men's Intercollegiate Athletics in late January to the Office of Internal Audits, the auditors moved swiftly to review the concerns with the full cooperation of Intercollegiate Athletics for Men," Powers said. The same day, UT Athletics business manager Tony Pangonas discovered a box containing $6,240 in cash and several checks and money orders dating back to 2006 in the "Relay Room," where Texas Relays-related items are stored, the warrant said. "Following discovery of the U.S. currency, Tony Pangonas witnessed [Wilson] utter a profanity," the affidavit said. Also on Feb. 1, the warrant said, a locksmith opened a safe in the room and found a large amount of checks dated between 2003 and 2007. Several UT Athletics employees also saw Wilson carrying large amounts of cash during Texas Relays events, the warrant said. The athletics department could not comment because the case is part of an ongoing investigation. The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely.
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