New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that Renee Kanas, 63, a resident of Tamarac, Florida, pleaded guilty today to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D felony, for stealing over $148,000 in pension payments from the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System paid to her father, Jacob Yudenfreund, a New York State pensioner who died in March 2010.

Retired Suffolk County Police Det. Sergeant Terrance Hoffman will repay the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System $465,647, as part of his sentence today for defrauding the retirement system in a double-dipping scheme.

The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) spent $211 million on an advertising contract to promote economic development and tourism in New York state with no tangible results, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that David Cohen, former executive director of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council), has been sentenced to one year in jail. Cohen has also paid $650,000 in restitution to Met Council. The joint investigation revealed that Cohen, together with former Met Council CEO William Rapfogel and other co-conspirators, stole approximately $9 million from the taxpayer-funded nonprofit organization as part of a 20-year grand larceny and kickback scheme.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli , United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, and Andrew W. Vale, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that former New York State Assemblymember WILLIAM SCARBOROUGH, age 69, of Queens, New York, has agreed to enter guilty pleas on federal and state public charges stemming from public corruption investigations. 

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that Roger Burlew, the former Highway Superintendent for the town of Erin who stole $65,000 from the Town, has been sentenced to serve six months in jail and five years of probation. As part of Burlew's sentence, he must also pay full restitution to the town of Erin. In the event that Burlew fails to pay restitution, he faces up to fifteen years in state prison.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today a $500 sweepstakes to help a lucky New Yorker plan ahead for college. Winnings from the sweepstakes will be put in a new or existing 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan account. The New York 529 College Savings Program, an investment tool designed to help families save for college, is overseen by DiNapoli’s office in partnership with the Higher Education Services Corp.

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that Roger Burlew, the former Highway Superintendent for the town of Erin who stole $65,000 from the Town, has been sentenced to serve six months in jail and five years of probation. As part of Burlew's sentence, he must also pay full restitution to the town of Erin. In the event that Burlew fails to pay restitution, he faces up to fifteen years in state prison.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the unsealing of a one count indictment before the Honorable Peter Lynch charging Terence Fitzpatrick, 43, a resident of Monmouth County, New Jersey, with the crime of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, in Albany County Court. Fitzpatrick is alleged to have stolen over $78,000 in pension benefits from the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System, payable to his deceased godfather, Thomas Sullivan.