Former GLBT
Center Exec Charged With Wire Fraud

The former office manager of the Metro D.C. GLBT Community Center has been accused of stealing about $150,000 from the estate of late lesbian activist Geraldine "Gerri" Linder, the Washington Blade reported Friday. Federal prosecutors have charged Robert Bruening with committing wire fraud by entering Linder's residence after her death in February 2005 to obtain financial information and later using it to transfer her funds to his roommate's bank account.

According to a document filed with the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia, "Defendant Robert Bruening knowingly and willfully created and executed a scheme to obtain wrongfully the money and property of Geraldine Linder by making false representations to financial institutions, lying in an official court affidavit, and creating false documents and records and presenting them to various financial institutions in order to receive amounts of money to which he knew he was not entitled."

Michael Sessa, president of the GLBT center, told the Blade he fired Bruening in August 2005, but the dismissal was not related to the wire fraud accusation. Sessa said the center is cooperating with federal investigators and all money has been accounted for. (The Advocate)