The general manager of the Harvard Krokodiloes resigned last spring after he paid for approximately $3000 in personal items with the singing group's checks and credit card, students familiar with the case said.

Kyle E. Kimball '95, a Lowell House resident, is currently repaying the money, the students said. Kimball wrote checks to himself and charged various personal items, including clothing from a Gap store in his home state of Kansas, according to the students.

The students, several of whom are former and current Kroks, said they spoke anonymously because the office of Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III instructed them not to comment.

In discussing Kimball's case, Kroks members were quick to add that the alleged mishandling of money was only one factor in his decision to leave the group. Several members also said they did not think Kimball had taken the money maliciously.

"This wasn't a case of criminal intent or negligence," said a former Kroks member, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Kyle just got in over his head, and he may have misunderstood where the line is between what's right and what's wrong."

Kimball refused to comment for this article.

"What your article is writing about is really of no concern to me so I'm not going to be available for comment," Kimball said in an answering machine message.

Matthew B. Colangelo '96, the group's current general manager and spokesperson, said the group handled Kimball's situation appropriately.

"The issue is an internal issue which has been dealt with appropriately," Colangelo said. "The Kroks, like any other business organization, have protective measures in place as far as their finances are concerned."

Several Kroks said they reached an amicable settlement with Kimball. The agreement required that the former general manager pay the group back for his expenses.

"Kyle Kimball is a good guy who put his best effort in the Kroks, but inevitably, a new manager has to deal with problems beyond his experience," said Kimball's predecessor, former Krok general manager Stephen S. Fleming '93. "In most ways, he did a fine job and was a good manager of the Kroks."

Fleming, who was contacted by phone at his residence in Japan, declined to comment further about the alleged mishandling of money.

Group members said a cash shortfall of about $15,000 was discovered when Kroks were planning their 1994 summer tour.

The group held fewer concerts in the preceding year, and the resulting lower revenues caused most of the shortfall.

In going over the books, however, the Kroks discovered approximately $3,000 for which Kimball could not account, members said.

When several of the group's older members confronted Kimball about the missing money, he was at first evasive but soon acknowledged that "there were some loans, but that he planned to pay them back," according to one student who was present.