A former president of Youngstown's Croatian Home Lodge 66 is facing allegations of racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt and leaving the club to foot the bill.

John Seeco appeared in court this morning for arraignment on a charge of misuse of a credit card.

Seeco plead not guilty.  Croatian Home members say Seeco opened up an MBNA Mastercard in the club's name without permission and then accumulated nearly 17-thousand dollars in airline tickets, gambling debt, and other expenses.

Financial advisor and trustee, Al Matasy, says they never expected this from someone they trusted.

Al Matasy says, "John Seeco did many good things for the Croatian Club and the Croatian people, but he abused their faith in him and their trust in him to do something illegal."

Seeco is free on bond.

No date has been set yet for his preliminary hearing.