NY clerk accused of swiping $1M from village over 19 years forced to give up pension in first-of-its-kind decision

An upstate village clerk accused of swiping more than $1 million — about the same amount as her town’s entire annual budget — will give up her pension in a historic New York forfeiture case.

Disgraced former Addison employee Ursula Stone, 55, allegedly stole $1,171,362 in village funds over at least 19 years — and is now the first politician to fork over her pension under New York’s anti-corruption law, state and county officials announced late last week.

“This case represents the most complete, and to be frank – shocking, breach of public trust I have encountered in 30 years as a Steuben County prosecutor,” Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker said in a statement.

“The reality is that but for some real heads-up detection work by members of the State Comptroller’s staff it would still be ongoing.”

Stone appeared in Steuben County Court on Thursday and agreed to forfeit her pension of $1,920 a month, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/04/us-news/ny-clerk-accused-of-swiping-1m-from-village-forced-to-give-up-pension-in-first-of-its-kind-decision/

New York in 2011 passed a law allowing judges to revoke or reduce pensions of crooked officials, but it didn’t apply to sitting lawmakers. Then in 2017, voters approved a ballot measure to close that loophole, allowing the state to go after the pensions of lawmakers no matter when they were elected.

DiNapoli said Stone's case is the first time the punishment is being used in New York. Prosecutors have to pursue the pension forfeiture penalty and prove a person knowingly committed a crime related to public office.

“This case should send a clear message that those who dishonor their public office will face serious consequences,” DiNapoli said.

Stone, 56, ran the village's financial operations with no oversight and stole dozens of checks intended for the village, authorities said. She also gave herself unauthorized pay raises and wrote herself checks for unauthorized health insurance buyouts from the village.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2024/08/03/steuben-county-politician-convicted-of-corruption-to-be-stripped-of-pension-in-first-use-of-forfeiture-law

Further investigation found Stone had stolen dozens of checks payable to the village, converted them to certified bank checks and cashed them.

Investigators also found Stone gave herself other perks, including:

Unauthorized pay raises
Time off without deducting it from her leave credits
Writing herself checks for unauthorized health insurance buyouts from village funds
Cashing out unused vacation time since 2004, an option that was only available to employees who resigned or retired
DiNapoli said Stone wrote herself a final unauthorized check of $26,613 before resigning, but the payment was stopped before she could cash it.

“The magnitude, scope, duration and pervasiveness of this criminal activity is absolutely stunning,” Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker said in a statement. “For nearly two decades, Ursula Stone abused the trust of the people of the Village of Addison, using her position to steal from their taxes, their schools and their community. The impact of her criminal acts on this community has been and will be felt for decades."

https://13wham.com/news/local/former-addison-village-clerk-in-steuben-county-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-1-million-forfeits-pension-ursula-stone-comptroller-investigation-checks