Mount Vernon Corporate Counsel Indicted In Corruption Case

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The city’s Corporation Counsel was part of a scheme to defraud the Mount Vernon Board of Water Supply of $365,000 to pay the personal legal expenses of Mayor Richard Thomas and a public relations firm, says New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Wednesday, James and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the arrest and indictment of Lawrence Porcari for abusing his position as a public official.

“New York has zero tolerance for those who cheat taxpayers, commit fraud, or violate the public trust,” said James in the announcement. “My office is committed to rooting out corruption and bringing bad actors to justice at every level of government and in every corner of this state. Working closely with Comptroller DiNapoli, we will continue to diligently pursue public integrity issues so that the people of New York get the good government that they deserve.”

She tweeted after the announcement:

Porcari is charged with one count of Corrupting the Government in the First Degree and one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree as a crime of Public Corruption, both class B felonies, as well as one count of Defrauding the Government and four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, all class E felonies.

“Mr. Porcari allegedly violated both his duty as a public servant and as an attorney by diverting public money and falsifying records,” said State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “I will continue to partner with Attorney General Letitia James to expose corruption and protect taxpayer funds.”

According to documents filed with the Westchester County Court, prosecutors allege Porcari misappropriated funds from the City of Mount Vernon Board of Water Supply to pay law firms for the personal defense of Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas in criminal proceedings, as well as a public relations firm hired at the time of Thomas’s arrest in March 2018.

Thomas was indicted in May 2018 on the corruption case.

Approval for the rate of payment for one of the law firms and the public relations firm was sought from the City’s Board of Estimate and Contract on multiple dates in April and May of 2018 but was never obtained.

So, prosecutors allege, Porcari arranged for payments from the funds from the Board of Water Supply, which consists of money paid by customers for their use of water and whose use is limited by state and local law to Board of Water Supply purposes.

The scheme continued into the fall of 2018 with payments from the Board of Water Supply to a second firm later retained for Thomas’s defense.

Prosecutors allege that to further the scheme, Porcari allegedly submitted memorandums to the Board of Water Supply for “emergency” payments to the law firms, including memorandums containing false statements.

Porcari was arraigned Wednesday in Westchester County Court in White Plains, before Judge David Zuckerman. He was ordered to surrender his passport and was released on his own recognizance. The case was adjourned to June 5.

If convicted on the top charge, he faces a maximum penalty of eight and a third to 25 years in state prison.

The Attorney General thanked the Office of the State Comptroller’s Division of Investigations for their assistance in this investigation.

The investigation was handled by Investigator Angel LaPorte, under the supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator John McManus and Supervising Investigator Sylvia Rivera. Assisting in the investigation and providing forensic auditing analysis was Forensic Auditor Andre Hartley, under the supervision of Deputy Chief Auditor Sandy Bizzarro and Forensic Audit Section Chief Edward J. Keegan Jr. Also assisting in the investigation were Analysts Katharine Litka and Rebecca Saber.

The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Meagan Powers and Special Counsel Brian Weinberg of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Stacy Aronowitz. The Criminal Justice Division is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Jose Maldonado.

SEE ALSO:

• Plea Deal For Thomas Still On The Table?
• Mount Vernon Ethics Board Abused Power: Porcari