For some he was a good boss. For others, he didn’t pass the smell test. Court records show he left Maryland with nearly $120,000 taken from a joint bank account he had with his soon-to-be-ex-wife.  The divorce was still pending when he left town.

For some he was a good boss. For others, he didn’t pass the smell test.

It all depends on where the information comes from regarding former Sedona-Oak Creek School District administrator Richard Thelander, also known as Richard Brueckner, Thelander is known as Brueckner in Ocean City, Md., where  warrants for his arrest on charges of fraud and theft were issued. It is unclear when Brueckner started using Thelander as an alias.

Court records show he left Maryland with nearly $120,000 taken from a joint bank account he had with his soon-to-be-ex-wife.  The divorce was still pending when he left town.

Brueckner is also accused of fraudulently using credit cards in February.

Brueckner’s resignation was accepted at the SOCSD’s Aug. 28 meeting.

“Fingerprint checks work only when there is something to compare them to,” said Anthony Lozano, board member of the Clarkdale-Jerome School Elementary School district.

Lozano said he was referring to the possibility that Brueckner never had his fingerprints on file before coming to Arizona and working in the schools.

Lozano had dealings with Brueckner as a board member and when his wife, Lori Lozano, worked for the Camp Verde Unified School District.

“This guy didn’t seem right,” he said.

Marv Lamer, superintendent of the Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education who also worked with Brueckner echoed Lozano’s feeling.

“Some things he said he did and knew about just didn’t check out when talking to him,” Lamer said.

Mark Sterling, a current business education teacher at Sedona Red Rock High School had nothing but praise for Brueckner.

“He was our boss. He ran the CTE program here. I had no negative interactions with him. He built up this program,” he said.

Sterling said some of his former students had seen reports of the arrest and called to inquire.

“They were surprised. Some said they didn’t believe it. They asked, ‘Are they sure?’” he said.

“I had seen him talking to kids and giving them guidance like a father,” Sterling said.

Lozano noted the irony that a man who was avoiding judgement in one state, was working in another passing judgement on employees under his supervision.

Brueckner was also on the board of the PACE Prepatory Academy, a charter school with campuses in Camp Verde and Prescott Valley.

Kate Pagel, director of operations for PACE, issued a supportive statement at the time of Brueckner’s arrest in August.

Pagel is Brueckner’s daughter-in-law through his Arizona wife, according to Lamer.

When Brueckner went to work as the Career and Technology Director for SOCSD in 2000, the background check laws of Arizona were more lax than now.

An employee at his level would most likely have only required a state check using his fingerprints.

State law requires school districts to secure fingerprint cards from applicants.  Fingerprint cards are sent to the Arizona Department of Public Safety to check the records of other law enforcement agencies.

The laws have been evolving and getting tougher every few years.

In 2000, Brueckner would have most likely had a class one or in-state records check.

Class two or nationwide checks were not required then.

As of Jan. 1, DPS will conduct a National Crime Information Center database search for most school employees. These are FBI records.

DPS issues fingerprint

clearance cards to school districts once background checks are satisfactorily completed.

Maryland court records show that charges were filed in February, even though Brueckner’s alleged theft and credit card fraud occurred beginning in 1996 and his name change appears to have occurred between 1998 and 2000 when he showed up in Sedona as Thelander.

According to the new law, school employees will be required to show picture identification when getting fingerprints “rolled” by local law enforcement agencies.

This is not a requirement

prior to the new law taking effect.

John O’Donnell, a former career technology education teacher at Mingus Union High School, expressed surprise that no one checked Brueckner’s work history.

“Not one of the places he worked called to check on this guy’s experience. Fingerprints are one thing, but a phone call to a former employer is another,” he said. “You don’t need DPS to do that.”

Credit card fraud is on the list of crimes that will prevent DPS from issuing a fingerprint clearance card.

Brueckner was picked up by a criminal transportation service under contract with the Worcester County Maryland Sheriff’s office August 3.

Mike Cosentino can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 128, or e-mail to mcosentino@larsonnewspapers.com