Beverly Hills Schools Chief Suspended

School Supt. Robert Pellicone has been indefinitely suspended with full pay after an internal audit allegedly revealed that he was misusing a credit card registered to the district to cover bar tabs, restaurant bills and luxury hotel rooms in Beverly Hills and San Francisco.

Richard Bertain, assistant superintendent of finance, has taken over as interim superintendent.

“There were a number of expenditures and reimbursements not authorized under his contract or by the California Education Code,” school board President Barry Brucker said of Pellicone. “This has been a painful experience for the board and for the community, and the decision made was necessary and could not be delayed.”

Although officials declined to pinpoint the amount of expenses in question, one of several credit card bills totaled some $5,400, according to one official.

After previous superintendent Sol Levine resigned last year, Pellicone was recruited from New York’s Eastchester Unified School District and installed as superintendent in October 1998 at a salary of $143,000 a year.

Brucker said Pellicone would remain on suspension while Beverly Hills Unified School District attorney Eric Bathen and the Los Angeles County Office of Education conclude the investigation. The suspension, which began Monday, will be discussed at the school board meeting next Wednesday.

Through a spokesperson, Pellicone declined to comment on the allegations.