Ex-Museum Official Gets 7 Years in Prison : Embezzlement: Marcus Arthur Rodriguez of Glendale apologizes before he is sentenced for taking $2.1 million.

A former leading official of the county Museum of Natural History was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for embezzling $2.1 million from the museum and its private foundation.

Marcus Arthur Rodriguez, 53, the Exposition Park museum’s former chief deputy director, in September entered a plea of no contest to 22 felony counts, including five of grand theft, two of misuse of public money, one of forgery, 12 of money laundering and two of conspiracy.

Rodriguez, of Glendale, apologized for the crimes Wednesday during his sentencing before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge J. D. Smith. He faced a maximum 12-year sentence.

Authorities had accused Rodriguez of stealing the money between July 1988 and May 1994, during a time when the county, in the grip of a budget crisis, was laying off museum employees and cutting programs.

The stolen money came from county coffers, museum ticket sales and private donations while Rodriguez oversaw the museum foundation and a satellite facility, the George C. Page Museum in the Wilshire district.

News of the thefts stunned museum officials and workers because Rodriguez was well compensated, earning a county salary of $92,500 annually. Until last year, he also had been paid a $58,800 annual salary by the private foundation that supports the museum.

According to authorities, he used the siphoned-off funds mostly for “personal purchases,” including three cars, jewelry and presents for friends. The money also was used to pay loans and credit card accounts and to set up a personal line of credit.

Some was used to pay a relative’s property taxes, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph Shidler, who prosecuted Rodriguez.

The irregularities came to light last year after James L. Powell, the new director of the 80-year-old institution, noticed discrepancies in financial statements.

Also originally accused of taking part in the scheme was Cristina Elizabeth Coleman, 41, Rodriguez’s former secretary, and Marissa Meroney, 41, the former chief accountant for the private foundation.

Charges against Coleman have been dropped because of insufficient evidence. Meroney remains charged with conspiracy and grand theft and is scheduled to be in court next on Jan. 19.

Rodriguez was targeted as the mastermind of the embezzlement scheme, authorities said, because he diverted money into museum bank accounts he controlled. Authorities also contended that he risked $625,000 of the museum’s money in the stock and bond markets.

Rodriguez worked in various county administrative jobs before joining the museum staff a decade ago. He served as an aide to Supervisor Mike Antonovich, and worked in the county marshal’s office and for the county assessor.

The museum’s former director, Craig C. Black, was accused in 1993 of using county personnel to renovate his home and allowing a museum employee to remain on the payroll as she pursued full-time graduate studies in Northern California. Black retired several months later.