Ex-telecom bookkeeper pleads not guilty

BURLINGTON—A Northfield man, who officials say embezzled about $560,000 from an Upper Valley nonprofit, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington on June 14 to three counts of wire fraud. John Van Vught, 72, defrauded ValleyNet Inc., a nonprofit that had a contract to operate fiber-to-home internet networks serving customers in east central Vermont and Lyme, the indictment said. He worked under a contract and served as the bookkeeper for ValleyNet.