Former School Secretary Sentenced For Stealing School Funds

TARRYTOWN, NY — The former school secretary accused of stealing from her school district was sentenced Wednesday. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. said that Carol Ressa, 54, of Lake Peekskill, received five years probation after she pleaded guilty in February to third-degree grand larceny as a public corruption crime, a felony.

According to the terms of her probation, she must finish paying restitution of the balance due in the amount of $2,929.56 during her first 12 months of probation.

Ressa was a long-time employee of the Tarrytown Union Free School District and most recently worked as a secretary at the Sleepy Hollow Middle School.

Scarpino said, between October 2011 and March 2017, Ressa used her position as a public employee to steal thousands of dollars from the Tarrytown Union Free School District. In addition to stealing unauthorized checks drawn from a school district bank account and making them payable to herself, the defendant also stole multiple checks and money orders which had been provided to the district by middle school students and their families in order to pay for various student activities.

Those included class trips, yearbooks and even school lunches.

After stealing these various checks and money orders payments, Ressa admitted to depositing the stolen district funds into her own personal bank accounts for her own personal use.

As a result of this scheme, she stole more than $10,000 from the school district.

Ressa is scheduled to be sentenced May 9, 2018.

Photo caption: Carol Ressa. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney's Office.