Mount Vernon Mayor Pleads Guilty, Will Step Down

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Mayor Richard Thomas has pleaded guilty to campaign corruption charges. He will resign, according to news reports.

The plea deal he was granted Monday morning was better than any offered before, reported Jonathan Bandler of The Journal News. He pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, admitting that he misappropriated campaign money. He was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge, so if he complies with the plea deal details, he will avoid jail time or even probation.

In March 2018, then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli alleged among other things that Thomas stole $12,900 from his campaign committee, and diverted over $45,000 from his inaugural committee for personal use.

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.

While he denied the charges immediately, Thomas also said "I want to reassure the people of Mount Vernon that they are related to the campaign and not my service in office."

Last month, the mayor's bid for re-election collapsed when he lost the Democratic Primary to Shawyn Patterson-Howard. He will step down Sept. 30.

SEE ALSO:

• Final Count In; Thomas Sued County Over Democratic Primary
• Mount Vernon Corporate Counsel Indicted In Corruption Case
• Plea Deal For Thomas Still On The Table?
• Mount Vernon Mayor Indicted
• Campaign, Inaugural Funds Were Mayor's Personal Piggybank: NY AG
  

Mount Vernon is a mess. The school district has sued the city for not turning over all the taxes collected on its behalf. The feds have sued the city because its raw sewage spews uncontrolled into people's houses and nearby waterways. Garbage was uncollected for a week because the city comptroller would not pay invoices for truck repairs; printers at City Hall were repossessed for the same reason. Infighting at City Hall is virulent.

Patterson-Howard issued a statement Monday afternoon:

“This decision is a positive development for Mount Vernonites, who are committed to moving forward and building an effective and reliable government. Right now, I’m focused on the general election on November 5, 2019, where I will face both Conservative and Republican candidates in a race that will determine the future of our city. Until the beginning of the next administration, the government’s work must continue. The residents of Mount Vernon deserve broad and consistent access to the services of the City. We must remain focused on uniting and healing to order to make real progress in Mount Vernon.”