Audit Objective
Determine whether the Village of Addison (Village) Clerk-Treasurer properly deposited, recorded, reported and disbursed Village funds.
Key Findings
The former Clerk-Treasurer1 did not properly deposit, record, report or disburse Village funds and misappropriated more than $1.1 million in Village funds for personal gain. The former Clerk-Treasurer was able to perform these acts without detection because the Board of Trustees (Board) failed to fulfill its fiscal responsibilities, provide oversight and segregate the duties of the former Clerk-Treasurer (see Village of Addison – Board Oversight (2024M-8)). The former Clerk-Treasurer misappropriated revenue collections totaling $925,757 and made questionable or inappropriate expenditures totaling $94,562 and inappropriate and unauthorized payroll payments totaling $341,992 (see Village of Addison – Payroll (2024M-12)). She also did not maintain complete and accurate accounting records, provide financial reports to the Board, file payroll reports or remit biweekly withholdings in a timely manner resulting in approximately $5,000 in penalties and interest.
As a result of the Comptroller’s audit and subsequent investigation, the former Clerk-Treasurer was arrested in 2023 and charged with misappropriating funds and making unauthorized payments totaling more than $1.1 million in Village funds over a 19-year period. In May 2024, she pleaded guilty to one count of first degree Corrupting the Government (B Felony) and was sentenced to three to nine years in State prison in August 2024. As part of her sentence, the former Clerk-Treasurer was required to forfeit her monthly public pension. This sentence represents the first time a public official in New York State surrendered their pension as a penalty for corruption while in office.
Key Recommendations
The report includes five recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Clerk-Treasurer’s operations. Village officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they have initiated corrective action.
1 The former Clerk-Treasurer resigned on March 1, 2023.