William F. Carroll, former executive director of the Portable Sanitation Association International, pleaded guilty today to six counts of felony embezzlement after a payroll audit of the PSAI revealed $350,000 had been misappropriated. PSAI President Ron Crosier announced the guilty pleas to association members today.

Carroll, 66, will be sentenced next March in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota and faces up to 20 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine for each count. Former PSAI assistant Cynthia Rudiger, 69, also faces six felony charges and has a trial date set for May 2014.

According to criminal complaints filed in the Fourth Judicial District court, Carroll took hundreds of fraudulent disbursements from PSAI accounts to support spending on gambling and drinking. Records indicate Carroll took $32,000 in transactions at or immediately outside a casino. The payroll audit of PSAI revealed more than $350,000 had been taken over a three-year period.

Rudiger received thousands of dollars in cash payments authorized by William Carroll, then concealed the payments by coding them for “insurance’’ or “payroll adjustment,’’ according to the complaints.

Carroll resigned his position with the PSAI in April 2012, and his wife, D. Millicent Carroll, former PSAI industry/regulatory standards director, and Rudiger were fired shortly afterward. Millicent Carroll has not been charged in connection with the missing funds, but the three had been sued by the PSAI in civil court. We’re checking on a status report in the civil case.

Reached today, Crosier said that the guilty plea was nothing but a news story as far as he was concerned.

“We’ve been moving forward so fast and so far that this is really a non-issue. It doesn’t affect the PSAI in any way, shape or form,’’ he said. “Families were hurt severely. A lot of people suffered. It’s very unfortunate, and whether Bill was sent to prison or found not guilty doesn’t mitigate any of that.”

In the criminal complaints, Carroll said he directed Rudiger to code improper transactions so they would appear legitimate to the association’s accounting firm. He told police he took most of the money for gambling and alcohol. Rudiger told police she was aware of Carroll’s actions, but thought it was OK because he was paying the money back. Records indicate Carroll returned a small fraction of the money taken.

Carroll authorized payments to Rudiger coded under insurance, and Rudiger told police she thought they were justified because she had gone without a salary increase. She admitted she didn’t report those payments on her income tax returns.

The Carrolls and Rudiger were sued in civil court by the trade association, which alleged the trio stole $650,000 to $1 million from the organization over several years. The suit, filed in 2012, alleged that beginning in at least 2004, the three stole PSAI funds in a variety of ways. William Carroll allegedly took $504,000 in direct funds over that period, as well as $70,400 in unearned and false merit-based bonuses. The suit alleged Millicent Carroll took $12,000 in direct payments and $33,100 in false merit-based bonuses over that period. It stated Rudiger took $12,000 in direct funds and $23,400 in unearned or false merit-based bonuses. The suit also alleges the trio was responsible for at least $50,000 in unacceptable benefits and perks over that time period.