A Syracuse University student, Stephanie Musat, plead guilty to petit larceny and forgery in the third degree during her arraignment May 7 in Syracuse City Court.

Musat, a junior newspaper journalism major, was editor in chief of The Daily Orange, the independent student newspaper of Syracuse, N.Y., in fall 2009 and enterprise editor in spring 2010.

During the arraignment, the presiding judge, Karen Uplinger, read Musat’s plea of guilty for intentionally defrauding The Daily Orange Corporation and forging the signature of The Daily Orange’s general manager, Peter Waack, on two blank checks.

Musat was given 35 hours of community service at her sentencing on July 13, two months after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charges, said Barry Weiss, administrative assistant at the district attorney’s office.

Weiss said Musat served 60 total hours of community service — 25 more than she was eventually sentenced to — at her home in New Jersey, prior to appearing in court on Tuesday. If Musat stays out of legal trouble for the next six month the case against her will be dismissed, he said.

The charges were committed on Feb. 21, according to the police report.

Musat was let go from The Daily Orange Corp. on March 23 due to a violation of staff policies. She was released from the paper for misusing company funds for personal use, said Meredith Galante, current editor in chief of The Daily Orange.

When Musat was fired, Galante did not know about the incidents of forgery and larceny for which Musat is currently facing charges, Galante said. The corporation later discovered these other violations of staff policies, at which point The Daily Orange Corp. Board of Directors decided to involve the authorities, Galante said.

Police issued a court appearance ticket to Musat at 6:10 p.m. at her home on Sumner Avenue on May 2, according to the police report.

Galante said Musat is “no longer associated with The Daily Orange Corporation in any way, shape or form.”
— Asst. News Editor Kathleen Ronayne contributed reporting to this article.

Updated: July 13, 2010

Published on May 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm