PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and BRIAN HICKEY, the Special- Agent-in-Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General, announced today the arrest of MARIE E. THORNTON, the former Vice President of Finance for Iona College, on charges of embezzling more than $1.2 million from Iona College over the course of a ten-year time period.