CaseNet filings show that college’s civil case with Donald Robison ended late last May, and that he’s set to be released from a federal facility next month
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
Over a 20 year period from 1998 to 2018, former St. Louis Community College (STLCC) employee Donald Robison embezzled a total of at least $7.5 million from the institution, although the actual amount may never be known.
“It was money that was intended to help people to advance in their careers and help employers with their existing employees,” Chancellor Jeff Pittman told NPR’s St. Louis affiliate in 2019. “It’s frustrating and discouraging to believe that anybody would take advantage of a situation like this.”
Previous reporting from The Montage showed that back in April 2019, Chancellor Pittman said that school administrators were working to discover how and why funds were being diverted away by Robison to a fictitious company that he owned. Questions regarding how the funds were managed solely by Robison had also surfaced during the investigation.
According to Pittman, STLCC had previously established an arrangement with Missouri’s Department of Economic Development where the college authorized, administered and dispersed money from the state fund at a 15 percent fee. Robison had the exclusive privilege within the St. Louis metro area to do so while the college also had its own career development program that the funds could be allocated to without incurring a fee; Robison was the manager of this program.
He was convicted and sentenced to 75 years in prison for his crimes in Dec. 2019, and Special Agent in Charge Richard Quinn of the FBI’s St. Louis Division said at the time, “[…] we should never forget that for 20 years, Don Robison abused his position of trust to deny Missouri workers and taxpayers’ money intended for them. He will now be held to account by forfeiting his time and ill-gotten gains.”
However, CaseNet filings from May 26 of last year show that the college settled with Robison for an undisclosed amount.
The college did not publicly announce this information, nor did it comment directly on Robison’s sentence in Dec. 2019. STLCC General Counsel Lucy Singer says that it’s because “The College does not issue statements or comments on civil cases.”
Singer further explained, “This was a civil case the College had filed against Donald Robison. This is separate from the criminal case. The civil case was resolved to the parties’ satisfaction through a settlement agreement. The resolution of the civil case has no relation to or impact on Donald Robison’s sentence in the criminal case.”
Regarding the federal case, it seems as if Robison’s time in that system may be coming to some sort of end soon as well. A search on the Federal Bureau of Prision’s Inmate Locator says that Robison is scheduled for some form of release on April 9, and that he is currently housed at an unspecified location through the Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office.
Criminal Justice Professor Ruth Eilerman, who has previously worked in the federal prison system for a number of years, speculates that Robison may be placed at the city’s federal halfway house, Dismas House, if he isn’t already there.
“Traditionally, after someone leaves prison, there is some form of supervised release,” she said.
At this time, Robison’s current location remains unknown.
Singer says that the college has no comment on Robison’s release date.
“Again, the Bureau of Prisons’ decision is related to the sentence in the criminal case,” she said. “This is not related to the civil case. The College has no input into or comment on the Bureau of Prison’s decision.”
The Montage filed a FOIA request to obtain more in-depth records about Robison’s 2019 sentence in November for a different piece prior to learning about the settlement, and before learning of Robison’s release date. As of press time, the Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri has not responded to the request or provided any documents relating to the case or its settlement. The Montage is also still investigating why the case was dismissed with prejudice by the court and what led up to this ruling, and what led to Robison’s eventual release next month.
For further updates on this story, stay tuned to meramecmontage.com and our print editions.
