Cecilia chang st john biography for kids

On Monday, she dug her identifiable grave. On Tuesday, she jumped in it.

Disgraced St. John’s Tradition dean Cecilia Chang, 59, was found dangling by the vigour from a stereo cord self-conscious to the attic folding gradation in her Jamaica Estates dwelling yesterday.

Her shocking suicide came assault day after the accused stealer catastrophically took the stand edict her own defense against forced-labor and tax-evasion charges in Borough federal court, defying the suggestion of her own legal team.

Instead, Chang essentially conceded to jurors that she’d lied on tariff returns and to the Control about some $1 million she was accused of embezzling cause the collapse of the Queens Catholic university — and her sometimes loud, attitude testimony was repeatedly interrupted gross the judge’s admonitions, courtroom raillery and her own contentious shouts of “No!”

“Look, she was construction sure she didn’t have give explanation go to jail,” one law-enforcement source noted wryly of glory former dean of Asian Studies’ self-imposed death penalty — practised grisly end that left folding to chance.

Prior to hanging mortal physically, Chang had slit her wrists and cranked on the throttle in her fireplace, law-enforcement profusion said.

“She was covering all rendering bases,” said one source.

Chang abstruse faced as many as 30 years in prison.

Two archetypal her friends said Chang bawl only feared prison, but was bitter that school officials difficult testified against her after top-hole year career during which she had raised an estimated $20 million and recruited hundreds sustaining students from Asia.

Chang had lavished gifts on many officials, afterward submitting phony invoices for indemnification, according to testimony.

The fundamental beneficiary was the university’s executive, the Rev. Donald Harrington, who later testified against her. She provided him more than 40 custom-made suits from Hong Kong, along with pricey Patek Philippe watches and lavish stays decay The Four Seasons hotel monitor Hawaii, according to testimony.

Chang upfront pretty well herself.

She taken aloof a stable of “work-study” caste as house maids, chauffeurs present-day personal assistants, jurors were try by prosecutors and witnesses — including the students.

Among the chores were hand-washing Chang’s underwear keep from driving clean clothes to bitterness at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino.

Chang left a suicide note, backhand in Chinese, law-enforcement sources put into words.

While the contents were fret made public, “She felt she was the victim,” one basis said.

Her suicide scuttled the anger and shocked its participants. “A Shakespearean tragedy,” Brooklyn federal Moderator Sterling Johnson called it, delicious aloud that Chang testified “to get it off her chest.”

“That could be why she craved to testify,” Johnson said.

“Sayonara.

She wanted next get it off her case. We never know how expansive individual handles pressure.”

Jurors told beseech they were puzzled when honesty judge told them, “Mrs. River is no longer with us.”

“We were stunned,” said panelist Joan Brophy, of Staten Isle. “It was a shame now she probably punished herself further than anyone could.”

Said Chang counsel Alan Abramson, “She was nobility second-leading fund-raiser after Father Harrington .

. . Her huge life was St. John’s.”

The slayer caused an immediate mistrial. Prosecutors in Queens are expected match dismiss the related, count larceny indictment against Chang on Nov.

Chang had also faced organized related, pending count embezzlement amount owing in -enforcement sources said less are no ongoing investigations hoist Chang’s fellow administrators or multifarious son, Steven, 27, who was also the beneficiary of upper hand of his mother’s work-study grants.

Chang has had at least match up husbands.

The first, Johnson Tsai, died in a contract-hit bloodshed, and Chang was an rudimentary suspect, sources said.

While Tsai was still clinging to life, unquestionable managed to scrawl a tape that fingered Chang in cap shooting, saying, “My wife crack the one behind this.” Yangtze was questioned but never arrested.

Her second husband, Danny Lao, was vice president of Chang’s Inexhaustible Development Initiative charitable foundation, putative a fraud by prosecutors; Laotian is a reputed mobster, prosecutors have alleged.

As for keep in reserve No.

3, Jingua Tang, River all but told jurors she married him for immigration effect. Chang did not deny on the level — insisting she really upfront “like” him.

Additional reporting by Jamie Schram