Theft conviction sends star CIO back to prison

Frantz sentenced to six years in jail for embezzling from a third employer, Auto Warehousing Co.

Dale Frantz was a rising star at Auto Warehousing Co. through the mid-2000s, a CIO who earned $250,000 a year and was respected by his peers. He was also a thief who embezzled more than $500,000 between 2007 and 2009 by faking expense reports and reselling his employer's equipment.

Judge Robert Bryan earlier this month sentenced Frantz , 46, to nearly six years in prison on fraud charges. Frantz was also ordered by the Tacoma, Wash., federal judge to pay $516,358 in restitution to Portland, Ore.-based AWC, a vehicle-processing company that transports cars to dealerships.

Frantz -- who was honored as one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders in 2005 -- had established himself as an out-of-the-box IT executive after joining AWC in 1998. Among other things, he migrated much of his company from Windows PCs to Macs and engaged in a public dispute with Microsoft Corp. In fact, prosecutors cited the public accolades he had received to illustrate the level of trust he had achieved at AWC.

Dale Frantz was a rising star at Auto Warehousing Co. through the mid-2000s, a CIO who earned $250,000 a year and was respected by his peers. He was also a thief who embezzled more than $500,000 between 2007 and 2009 by faking expense reports and reselling his employer's equipment.

Judge Robert Bryan earlier this month sentenced Frantz , 46, to nearly six years in prison on fraud charges. Frantz was also ordered by the Tacoma, Wash., federal judge to pay $516,358 in restitution to Portland, Ore.-based AWC, a vehicle-processing company that transports cars to dealerships.

Frantz -- who was honored as one of Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders in 2005 -- had established himself as an out-of-the-box IT executive after joining AWC in 1998. Among other things, he migrated much of his company from Windows PCs to Macs and engaged in a public dispute with Microsoft Corp. In fact, prosecutors cited the public accolades he had received to illustrate the level of trust he had achieved at AWC.

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