Campaign, Inaugural Funds Were Mayor's Personal Piggybank: NY AG

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas is accused of corruption, including using money from his campaign and inaugural funds, receiving gifts for personal expenditures, and lying about it all on Board of Election reports and ethics disclosure forms.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli allege among other things that Thomas stole $12,900 from his campaign committee, and diverted over $45,000 from his inaugural committee for personal use.

"The pattern of looting here really is extraordinary," said Schneiderman at a press conference, adding "regularly depositing money from your campaign account to your personal account is quite unusual."

He described the criminal charges against Thomas as connected to a series of unscrupulous and illegal violations of the public trust.

“The allegations are false," Thomas said. "I want to reassure the people of Mount Vernon that they are related to the campaign and not my service in office. I have great confidence in our legal system and have no doubt I will be able to prove our full compliance. I will not allow the process to distract me from my service and duties. I expect to be fully vindicated.”

Among the acts alleged by the AG's office were using campaign and inaugural funds to help pay off personal expenses including car payments on a Volkswagen and a Ford Explorer, insurance policies, rent and a Chanel purse valued at $2,000. In addition, Schneiderman said, after winning election, Thomas used his campaign's American Express card to pay for two airport meals when he took his family on vacation to Mexico. He is alleged to have tried to disguise the purpose and location of the meals.

That includes a family breakfast at JFK Airport that Thomas listed on FORT’s NYSBOE 2016 January Periodic filing as a housekeeping expense for “food”; Thomas is alleged to have listed the restaurant’s corporate address, 352 Park Avenue in Manhattan, on the disclosure as the place of expenditure. The complaint also alleges that Thomas falsely disclosed a meal at a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant in Mexico, using the address of the Bubba Gump restaurant located in Times Square in Manhattan and falsely designating the meal as a “volunteer appreciation” event.

After the inauguration, Schneiderman said the pattern of corruption changed but did not end. He alleged a local person paid off about $7,000 on Thomas's Amex account and was then appointed to a high-ranking law enforcement position in the city. Another person paid $6,000 toward Thomas's tuition at the NYU School of Business. Schneiderman alleged Thomas did not file information about either with the city ethics commission.

The felony complaint filed with the Court Monday charges Thomas with one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a Class D felony); two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (a Class E felony); and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree (a Class A misdemeanor).

"I would encourage all residents of Mount Vernon to read the filings for yourselves to see what your mayor has been up to," Schneiderman said. "We encourage anyone with any information to contact our public integrity bureau."

Schneiderman said corruption like this erodes public trust and makes New Yorkers more cynical. His office has prosecuted cases against more than 75 corrupt officials and their cronies across the state, he said.

The investigation done in cooperation with DiNapoli began because there were complaints, Schneiderman said. "If you suspect there is public corruption or misconduct, complaints to our office do lead to investigations."

Carl Bernstein, the attorney representing Mayor Thomas, said:

“The allegations announced today by the Attorney General are unfounded and Mayor Thomas strongly proclaims his innocence. The Mayor’s 2015 campaign never, in any way, intended to violate the law and expects that, through the justice system, his name will be completely cleared of any wrongdoing. The mayor and his team of legal experts await their opportunity to refute these charges in a court of law. The allegations are not public corruption, they are campaign infractions that could have been handled with simple amendments to paperwork filed. If the Attorney General really wanted to rid the City of Mount Vernon of corruption, he would be teaming up with Mayor Thomas, who has made public ethics a top priority and has done more to fight corruption than any of his predecessors in City Hall.”

PHOTO/ Mayor Richard Thomas