Former Controller for Castle on the Hudson Charged with Grand Larceny

Mourad Boulas, the Hamden, Connecticut resident who is the former controller of Tarrytown's Castle on the Hudson, was arrested on Grand Larceny charges last week.

According to Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, Boulas was the target of a nine-month investigation after they had received a complaint from The Castle on the Hudson restaurant and hotel.

It is alleged that over a four year period, from December 2004 through to October 2008, Boulas stole in excess of $400,000 by writing checks to his wife, who had no relationship with the establishment, and to shell companies Boulas had created.

He allegedly wrote checks to these companies for various housekeeping items which were never received by the hotel.

Boulas, 46, was arraigned on a felony complaint and charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C Felony.

Bail was set at $350,000 cash, $250,000 bond, he had to surrender his passport. According to the Westchester Department of Corrections, Boulas is still in custody.

His next court appearance is scheduled for August 4 in Tarrytown Village Court. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Gamble of the Economic Crimes Bureau will prosecute the case. Boulas faces a maximum of five to fifteen years in state prison.

It is not the first time that Castle on the Hudson has been involved in a financial scandal. In 2001, the hotel was seized after its owner Hanspeter Walder was arrested.

Walder was an officer of the Union Bank of Switzerland (now UBS) in New York City. He stole an estimated 70 million dollars from dormant bank accounts of clients and/or used money in their accounts as collateral to pay for ongoing improvements to the Castle. He was convicted of the offense in 2003.