Manager Scammed Cemeteries For Work He Didn't Do

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — The former superintendent of the Raymond Hill Cemetery has been sentenced to state prison for crimes against several cemeteries and businesses, Putnam County District Attorney Robert V. Tendy announced Monday. The last theft took place the weekend before his trial began.

County Court Judge Larry Schwartz sentenced Robert Bauer of Pawling, New York Friday to a total of 1 1⁄2 to 4 1⁄2 years in prison. He must also pay restitution in the amount of $195,850.50.

Bauer, who had been the superintendent of Raymond Hill Cemetery in from mid-2010 to mid-2015, had been previously been convicted after a jury trial, of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, and two counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

Bauer had submitted invoices, and been reimbursed, for more than $160,000 of work that he did not perform and materials he did not purchase.

During the course of the investigation, the New York State Police and Putnam County District
Attorney’s Office uncovered evidence that Bauer had stolen from other cemeteries by whom he was employed and vendors with whom he had done business.

Bauer was separately charged with those offenses.

On Oct.19 he pleaded guilty to three additional counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, admitting that he stole from Ballard Barrett Cemetery, Union Valley Cemetery, Putnam County Monuments, and Bulldog Concrete.

Three of the thefts occurred during the same time period as his theft from Raymond Hill, while the fourth occurred the weekend before his trial began.

Due to the scope of Bauer’s theft against the Raymond Hill Cemetery, as well as the additional crimes that he pleaded guilty to, the District Attorney’s Office vigorously argued to Judge Schwartz that Bauer deserved a sentence of 4 to 12 years in state prison. At sentencing, Judge Schwartz described Bauer as a “brazen thief” and sentenced him as described above.

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