New York state collected just over $12 billion in taxes during the first two months of the 2016-17 state fiscal year, a decline of $480.1 million, or 3.8 percent, from the same period last year and nearly $120 million below projections, according to the monthly state cash report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Total receipts, including miscellaneous and federal receipts, declined $808.6 million from a year earlier, primarily because of the lack of settlement revenues and lower Personal Income Tax collections this year.  

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that he has directed the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) to review its portfolio for any companies involved in the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. DiNapoli and the Fund will take appropriate steps to protect investments from any risk posed by companies that are engaged in BDS activities, including restricting or exiting investments.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P.

Former Alexandria Town Clerk Ellen Peck pleaded guilty yesterday in Jefferson County Court to stealing $26,285 in public funds. Peck pocketed cash paid by residents for fines, fees and surcharges, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“For years, Ms. Peck violated the trust of her neighbors and stole thousands of dollars,” DiNapoli said. “Hopefully, her conviction will deter others from such corruption. I thank the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office and the State Police for their hard work on this case.”

The Capital District Transportation Authority’s (CDTA) reported overtime payments accounted for 20 percent of the authority’s total employee compensation in the 2015 fiscal year, more than twice the proportion of other upstate regional transit agencies, amid steady ridership growth in recent years, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.     

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.