Pharsalia Town Supervisor Dennis O. Brown faces criminal charges for allegedly stealing more than $123,000 in town funds. He allegedly used the funds to pay credit card bills and pad his salary an additional $20,000 a year, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Brown, 70, of South Plymouth in Chenango County, was charged with grand larceny in the second degree, scheme to defraud, defrauding the government, corrupting the government and public corruption. Brown allegedly used the town’s credit card to spend at least $123,273 to fund his personal lifestyle, including vacations in Myrtle Beach and New York City, fees for PayPal, Amazon and iTunes, and designer handbags, liquor and cooking classes. The investigation also revealed that Brown allegedly used town funds to pay 100 percent of his home telephone, internet and electric bills.

“Since 2010, Mr. Brown allegedly cheated his neighbors out of over a hundred thousand dollars by using public funds for his pleasure and daily expenses,” State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. “Taxpayers cannot tolerate the theft of public monies and deserve better from their public officials. I thank the State Police Special Investigations Unit in Binghamton for their diligent work and partnership on this case.”

The Comptroller’s inquiry into Pharsalia began with an audit in 2018 which led to the criminal investigation.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and 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. Review prior cases at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/investigations.