BUFFALO –A former top State University at Buffalo official who stole over $320,000 to use for travel, concerts and Broadway shows was sentenced to probation Friday, the state Inspector General's office said.

Dennis Black, 61, former vice president of University Life Services at SUNY Buffalo, who moved to South Carolina amid the investigation, must serve the five years of probation, commit to 2,500 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine, the Inspector General's office said.

Black, who had pleaded guilty to grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, both felonies, has paid $320,000 in restitution, and $34,302 to the state Department of Tax and Finance.

Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott said in a statement that Black, who resigned from his university role in the summer of 2016, used his job since at least 2007 to pilfer state money and spend it on personal travel, a social club membership, sporting and entertainment tickets and to donate to charity in his own name, among other items.

Black also took improper personal tax deductions against the stolen funds he gave to charities. The scheme involved his stealing money from an account administered and funded by the Faculty Student Association, which operates the food services and book stores at SUNY Buffalo. The funds were payments by FSA to SUNY Buffalo that Black improperly steered into this account rather than an official SUNY Buffalo-controlled account, thereby avoiding state financial controls, the statement says.

"This former top SUNY Buffalo official succumbed to hubris and left a brazen series of crimes in his wake," Leahy Scott said.

That the sentence did not include prison or jail left Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn disappointed, the Buffalo News reported. Flynn said the scope of the thefts and Black's prominence should hold Black to a higher standard, the newspaper reported.

Leahy Scott said the investigation into the practices and policies at SUNY Buffalo and use of funds intended for student activities remains ongoing.

Officials list Black's spending

According to state Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott and Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn, ex-SUNY Buffalo administrator Dennis Black spent stolen state funds for:

• Travel with his wife to Salt Lake City for their son's wedding, and personal travel to Denver, Florida, Washington D.C., Colorado Springs and Chicago, including airfare, lodging and meals.
• New York Yankees tickets.
• A total of $34,000 for personal dues and fees for the Buffalo Saturn Club, a social club.
• Tickets to a James Taylor concert, a Liza Minelli concert and Broadway shows.
• Nearly $11,500 for University Life Services staff parties at Buffalo Bison's Field.
• More than $3,300 for tickets to and in support of a performing Arts festival in Charleston, S.C. where he had a second home.

Black also used stolen funds for charitable contributions in his own name, and in some instances, took corresponding tax deductions to which he was not entitled. His improper charitable spending included:

• Using at least $75,000 in stolen state funds between 2008-2016 to support the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was a former board member. His spending included more than $18,000 for tickets and dinners for himself and others, $5,000 for video and recording services and more than $15,000 in pledges in the name of himself and his wife.
• Using nearly $13,500 in stolen funds in 2013 for event tickets and campaign support when he chaired the United Way campaign.
• Donating stolen funds to support the "Barksgiving" campaign in Buffalo, a Thanksgiving event for dogs and their owners, as well as for contributions to the American Heart Association and the Christ the King Seminary.