Disgraced President of Monmouth County School Speaks About Life in Prison

Lincroft, NJ - The disgraced former president of Brookdale Community College — who went to prison after he admitted to using his campus expense account for golf trips and groceries — is now speaking out about his experience in jail.

"I was told I'd end up in a country-club prison. I ended up in maximum security," Peter Burnham told the audience at the annual meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges in Chicago, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education, reports NJ.com.

Burnham was once a highly respected figure in the world of New Jersey higher education and he led the Monmouth County community college for 20 years. But in 2012, a campus audit showed that he used his school-issued credit card to purchase everything from golfing vacation to Arizona to groceries at Costco, reports NJ.com. He even admitted he told his son to apply for a $20,000 student loan to go to Monmouth University, even though Brookdale already paid part of the teen's tuition as part of Burnham's contract.

He made $216,000 a year as president of the school. Burnham admitted to the fraud and went to prison in 2012.

He told fellow inmates he had a Ph.D., but most didn't know what that was, reports NJ.com.

"They all thought I was a medical doctor, so they started to come to me with every ailment," he said. "After a while, I gave in. I'd tell them to take two aspirins and if it persists, go see the nurse."

Burnham spoke at the conference in part so he could get a job again in education. He passed out his business cards at the conference.

"I'll always have a scarlet letter. I'll never be a college president," he said. "There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I crossed that line."