The Associated Press - August 4, 2009
ALBANY, NY -- A former town judge is accused of using $27,000 in court fees and bail money to pay taxes and utility bills at his restaurant and stave off foreclosure on his home. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office filed charges against 47-year-old James Funk, the former town judge in Stockport, 25 miles south of Albany. Cuomo says a state audit found the money withdrawn by Funk was mostly bail money held by the court. Funk was the only person authorized to sign for the account. Funk was charged Tuesday in Stuyvesant (STYE'-veh-sihnt) Town Court with grand larceny, falsifying business records and official misconduct. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison. He was released without bail. Funk's lawyer, Peter Moschetti, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
********** FROM THE OFFICE OF THE NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL:
ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO ANNOUNCES
ARREST OF FORMER TOWN JUDGE FOR CHARGES INCLUDING
GRAND LARCENY AND OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT
ALBANY, NY (August 4, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced criminal charges against a former town judge for using $27,000 in fees and bail money from a court bank account for personal use. According to the complaint, James Funk, 47, of Hudson, while sitting as a judge of the Stockport Town Court in Columbia County, withdrew funds from the court’s bank account on four occasions in order to pay the taxes and utility bill on the Diamond Street Diner, his Hudson restaurant, and to stave off the foreclosure of his personal residence. According to the complaint, in one instance, Funk tried to cover his tracks by having an official bank check issued to one of his employees at the diner. Funk later crossed out the employee’s name and substituted it with “National Grid.” “As pillars of our legal system, judges are sworn to uphold the law and should be held to the highest professional standards. Allegations of criminal acts from the bench will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted by my office,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Judges, like all government employees, are not above the law and must never use their official positions for personal gain.” An audit conducted by the Unified Court System’s Internal Audit Unit found that the money withdrawn by Funk was mostly attributable to bail money held by the Court for pending cases. As judge, Funk was the sole authorized signatory for the court bank account, and was also responsible for collecting, recording, depositing, and distributing fines and fees that are paid to the court. Funk was charged today in Stuyvesant Town Court with one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class D felony; one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony; and one count of Official Misconduct, a class A misdemeanor. If convicted, Funk faces up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s office by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Unified Court System. Attorney General Cuomo thanks the Office of Court Administration, Office of Internal Affairs and the Internal Audit Unit for their assistance with this investigation. The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Nancy Snyder, with the assistance of Investigator Scott Petucci, under the supervision of Ellen Biben, Special Deputy Attorney General for Public Integrity. The charges against the defendant are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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18 comments:
If proven true I vote for prison.
To the above writer..I second that vote!!!!
maybe there will finally be an audit of the County Court affairs in columbia county. enough information has been provided to multiple offices.
Oh, Andeeeeeeeeee..... why is Ms. Pirro getting a free pass? Same question goes to 'judge' Ann Pfau.
Very good Andrew... Let's begin..
They could still go after Pirro, I think. Where's the money? Is Defiore doing the same thing? Did Defiore know what Pirro was doing? I'll bet that Nicolai knew it, and probably profited from the bail scam.
More Happy Horsebleep cominng out of Albany. Andrew gets headlines for prosecuting a Town Judge. WOW! The OCA gets a pat on the back for referring this to Andrew. Andrew has his cover for prosecuting this case as he was, as required, be invited into the case. Got that covered, right Mr.AG? Are you having problems with claims of non-jurisdiction as the former AG/Gov had with his persecutions?
time to thank our Attorney General
and this blog!
How do these idiots get on the bench in the first place?
Cuomo is an empty suit.
but something is getting done!
can't you folks see that Cuomo is that empty suit described above.
what has he done? didn't do anything in the Manhattan DA office as an assistant.
He went to HUD, and helped get the mortgage horror show going, and screwed up with the Erie Canal.
He runs for AG, a job that his opponent didn't want. But, heck, when you need to keep your name in the limelight to run for governor, why not?
My Gosh, this man isn't even a prosecutor - he created himself as a prosecutor when he should have stayed on the civil side of it.
The man is a fraud and a liar. He refuses to do his job unless it can get him political capital.
I saw all I needed to know when he sent two of his investigators to a prison to interview and inmate about the Tankleff matter. He garners no information from the inmate that spent 12 years with Tankleff, and he was 7 years before he is eligible for parole, and he still told the truth.
Andrew insinuated another prisoner that Tankleff had met ONLY ONCE, and tankleff, after writing over 50,000 letters protesting his innocence got a brainstorm flashed in his head and told this unnamed inmate that he killed his parents. That is the kind of person that will probably be our next governor - IF.......????
To August 5, 2009 9:39 PM, what precisely is getting done? Check your sources because if any thing is getting done it is not out of the AG`s office. Get it through your head CUOMO IS AN EMPTY SUIT, PERIOD.
explains why our AG will not investigate lawyers who lie cheat and steal!
What does Pirro's band of thugs have on Cuomo?
Pirro and her felon husband have a top godfather so Cuomo will not go there
Would that godfather be D'Amato?
The Pirros have a lot of godfathers. D'Amato and Pataki are two of many.
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