The Infamous Santorum Cyber Charter May Be One Gigantic Racket

Remember when Rick Santorum was “sending” his kids to a taxpayer-funded cyber charter in Penn Hills while living in exurban Virginia? Well the founder of that cyber charter–who himself railed against cyber charters before he ran a cyber charter–has now been charged with using the school’s public funding for personal use.

Fifty-eight-year-old Nicholas Trombetta of East Liverpool, Ohio, is accused of siphoning more than $8 million from the school through a network of profit and non-profit companies he controlled. Trombetta surrendered to authorities Thursday night on the charges announced Friday by federal authorities. Trombetta allegedly bought a $1 million Florida condominium and houses for his girlfriend and mother, along with nearly $1 million on personal expenses, including groceries.

11,000 kids–Santorum’s 800 not included–currently attend the school. The Santorum gaggle pulled out in ’04, after news of Santorum’s tenous PA residency surfaced. [AP]