Ex-Fire Chief Sentenced For Stealing $120K From Department In Westchester

A former fire chief in Northern Westchester has been sentenced for embezzling more than $120,000 from the department.

Ex-Briarcliff Manor FD chief and president Michael Garcia, a building contractor in the village who had pleaded guilty six months ago, was sentenced to one year and one day on Friday, Dec. 21.

“Robert Garcia lined his pockets with Briarcliff Manor Fire Department and Fire Council money to pay personal expenses, and then lied about it to cover his tracks," Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said. "Now Garcia will go to prison for his crime.”

According to documents filed in court, Garcia was elected to the position of second assistant chief of the BMFD in or about April 2013. His election to that position also made him an officer of the Briarcliff Manor Fire Council, which oversees the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department. He was then elected to different administrative and operational positions within the BMFD, including first assistant chief, chief, treasurer and president.

Read more: https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/yonkers/news/ex-fire-chief-sentenced-for-stealing-120k-from-department-in-westchester/746087/