New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the guilty plea today in Suffolk County Court of former Old Field treasurer Andrea Brosnan to grand larceny for stealing nearly $60,000 from the village.
Brosnan, 43, stole nearly $60,000 to shop on eBay and Amazon.com and pay divorce expenses, as well as collecting nearly $13,000 in unearned salary, according to an audit and investigation by DiNapoli’s office. The findings were referred to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota, who conducted a further investigation last year.
“Brosnan was entrusted with safeguarding the finances of the village but used taxpayer funds as her personal piggy bank. Working with District Attorney Spota, we were able to expose this theft and recoup the stolen public funds. My office will continue to work with law enforcement statewide to root out public corruption and retrieve stolen public money. I thank District Attorney Spota and his staff for their diligence and hard work in bringing this local official to justice.”
Brosnan pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court, Part 2, before Judge Fernando Camacho to one count of grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony, and is required to pay $59,151 in restitution.
“Thanks to the skill of Comptroller DiNapoli’s auditors, this theft from village coffers was detected,” District Attorney Spota said. “As a condition of her sentence, we have secured the return of the stolen money. The defendant will perform community service or, if she fails that obligation, she will serve time in jail. I’m optimistic the local government has learned that tighter fiscal controls are in order, as recommended by Comptroller DiNapoli in his comprehensive report on village finances.”
In its 2013 audit, DiNapoli’s office recommended more than a dozen steps the village of Old Field needed to take to strengthen its fiscal controls.
DiNapoli encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at [email protected], or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 14th floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.
For a copy of the audit, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/villages/2013/oldfield.htm