Armonk Man Sentenced in Bus Company Fraud

ARMONK, NY — William Ahern of Armonk, New York pleaded guilty to charges based on a two-year scheme to steal money from the Yonkers schools by billing for non-existent bus services.

He had been charged to one count Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony; and one count of Rewarding Official Misconduct in the Second Degree, a class “E” Felony.

The 60-year-old, as part of his plea, must return in restitution $179,203 on the day of his sentence, Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty said in his announcement Thursday.

Over nearly two years, between Sept. 24, 2012 and April 11, 2014, Ahern, the owner of A Plus Transportation, at 57 Alexander Street in Yonkers, acting in concert with co-defendant Anna Sollozzo, Transportation Supervisor for the City of Yonkers Board of Education, stole $313,825 from the City of Yonkers for bus services that were never provided for the Nepperhan Community Center, the DA said.

Ahern created a false bus route by invoicing bus pickups at the Nepperhan Community Center, when in fact no buses ever were dispatched. He then would submit these false invoices for the services that were never provided to Sollozzo, who would knowingly approve these invoices for payment, prosecutors said.

During that time, Ahern was secretly depositing monies into Sollozzo’s personal bank account totaling $107,250.

A Plus Transportation had contracts for bus services with the City of Yonkers totaling roughly $2,805,612 for the period from Sept. 24, 2012 through Feb. 7, 2014.

Sollozzo, from March 8, 2011 to April 14, 2014 neglected to remit a total of $282,398 to New York State Income Tax.

The fraud came to light as the Yonkers Inspector General was investigating an unrelated complaint.

Sentencing for Ahern will be on February 16, 2017. He faces a maximum of fifteen years in prison.

Anna Sollozzo, 54, of Yonkers, New York pleaded guilty to one count Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony and one count of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, a class “D” Felony. She was sentenced on June 1, 2016 to two to six years in state prison.

Assistant District Attorney Stephen Ronco of the Public Integrity Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Brian Conway, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau are prosecuting the case.