East Ramapo School Trustee Pleads Guilty, Steps Down

RAMAPO, NY — A school trustee in East Ramapo will step down after pleading guilty in a case involving Ramapo's Cultural Arts Center and accusations of fraud, The Journal News reported. Bernard Charles was accused of pretending he was still a town official and renting out the Cultural Arts Center in Spring Valley for an event in 2019.

Charles, who is married to Ramapo Town Deputy Supervisor Brendel Logan-Charles, kept the $1,000, the paper reported.

In a written statement, Charles said he took the plea deal because he didn't think he could get a fair trial. Town leaders only want businesses and yeshivas to use the center and continuously try to stop people of color from doing so, he said. "I now have been targeted, set up, entrapped and permanently removed."

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Charles was serving his third term on the board. It expires in 2022. In central school districts like East Ramapo, school boards may fill a vacancy by appointment, with the appointee serving until the next election, according to the New York State School Boards Association.