YMCA executive
indicted for
embezzlement

John Vasper is accused of five counts
of theft amounting to $396,410

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

A federal grand jury today indicted YMCA executive John Vasper on five counts of theft, alleged to have occurred between 1993 and 1997 and resulting in the theft of $396,410, said Larry Tong, assistant U.S. attorney.

If convicted of all counts, Vasper faces a maximum of 50 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

The FBI had investigated Vasper, a former executive of the Armed Services YMCA of Honolulu, for embezzling more than $300,000 over 10 years.

John Gillis, FBI spokesman, today said Vasper has been under federal investigation for nearly a year.

Attorney James Stubenberg, chairman of the Armed Services YMCA of Honolulu, said Vasper was suspended from his job after the YMCA's board of management conducted an internal investigation of the alleged discrepancies in April 1997.

"Major discrepancies" were found in the nonprofit organization's finances during the internal investigation, Stubenberg said.

But Stubenberg emphasized the 80-year-old organization is "in good shape" and this incident "doesn't affect our operations."

Jake Jacobs, executive director of the Honolulu Armed Services YMCA, said the matter was turned over to the FBI in July 1997, with the YMCA and its staff fully cooperating with the federal investigation.

Vasper worked at the Armed Services YMCA for 16 years before becoming acting executive director in 1996, Jacobs said.

The nonprofit, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, has an annual operating budget of $1.1 million. It employs 43 full-time and part-time employees.