Former Rockland County Bus Operator Indicted on Corruption Charges

Former bus company owner Richard Brega has been indicted in connection with a public corruption case. He is accused of steering thousands of dollars in political contributions to Ilan Schoenberger while the Ramapo politician was running for county executive, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe announced Monday. Brega already faces charges of fraud in connection with a scheme to take money from BOCES without delivering services. Ramapo is the epicenter of corruption cases in Rockland.

Richard Brega (DOB 06/12/67) of 15 Tomlins View, Tomkins Cove, New York for was charged by a Rockland County Grand Jury with ten counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, class “E” Felonies. On July 24, 2017, Brega was arrested on the indictment by detectives of the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office. The arrest is the culmination of a joint investigation by the Public Corruption Task Force and the New York State Board of Elections Division of Election Law Enforcement.

“Hiding the true source of campaign donations from election officials and the public fundamentally
impacts the transparency of our democratic system of governance,” said District Attorney Zugibe.
“Working closely with the Public Corruption Task Force, my office will continue to uncover illicit
schemes that evade campaign finance laws and prosecute those who seek to facilitate illegal political
contributions.”

Brega, whose company was once championed by Rockland County lawmakers, is alleged to have used straw donors between April 2013 and August 2013 to unlawfully funnel more than $40,000 in cash to the County Executive campaign of Town of Ramapo Legislator Ilan Schoenberger.

Brega is accused of recruiting ten individuals to contribute thousands of dollars each to the “Friends
of Ilan Schoenberger” campaign fund. According to the charges, the defendant provided the straw
donors the contribution amounts in cash. The ten individuals included employees of Brega's
company, Brega Transportation, as well as the defendant's family members and friends.

The campaign contribution limit for an individual donating to Schoenberger in 2013 was
$9,221. The straw donations were reported by “Friends of Ilan Schoenberger” to the New York State Board of Elections as individual contributions of the ten straw donors. Brega is accused of causing those records to be false, as the money that was funneled into the Schoenberger account was his own.

A “straw donation” involves the making of a surreptitious donation by illegally using another person’s (the “straw donor’s”) name.

Arraignment on the indictment is pending. Brega faces a maximum of four years in state prison. Executive Assistant District Attorney Richard Kennison Moran is prosecuting the case.

SEE:

• Rockland Suspends Brega, Bus Companies Under Indictment
  
• UPDATE: Rockland Bus Company Owner Indicted in BOCES Fraud
  
• Legislators Criticize County Exec Over Bus Contracts
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• NY Town Supervisor Verdict in Stadium Fraud Case
  
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