Rensselaer County correction officer who is ex-union leader ordered to repay $11,000

Rensselaer County Corrections Officer Kevin Rogers was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail and ordered to pay back the nearly $11,000 he was convicted of stealing from a now-defunct labor union, authorities said.

Rogers, 44, faced up to seven years in prison after a jury found him guilty in April on a felony grand larceny charge. On Friday, he appeared in Rensselaer County Court for a restitution hearing, and was ordered by Judge Debra J. Young to five years of probation as well.

The thefts took place while Rogers was vice president of the Sheriff's Employees Association of Rensselaer County, known as SEARCO. He was convicted of misusing a union debit card between 2006 and 2011 to pay for outings at upscale restaurants, visits to gentlemen's clubs and the purchase of ringside boxing tickets, among other non-business expenditures, according to prosecutors.

Mark A. Piche, SEARCO's former president, testified as a witness for the government at Rogers' trial. Piche pleaded guilty to federal tax charges three years ago but was not prosecuted for the alleged misuse of the union money. He abruptly resigned from his correction officer job in July 2012 as the criminal investigation intensified into his business dealings, and was identified as a target in the investigation that led to Rogers' arrest.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Former-Rensselaer-County-jail-officers-union-9242042.php