Attorney General Indicts Mount Vernon Mayor for Improper Use of Campaign Funds

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today that his office has indicted the Mayor of Mount Vernon for a series of charges relating to the personal use of campaign funds.

The complaint alleges that Mayor Richard Thomas (D) stole $12,900 from his 2015 campaign account, using the funds for his personal expenses, and diverted $45,000 from his inaugural committee for personal use. Thomas also allegedly lied on his campaign committee reports and on his city financial disclosure statement.

Thomas has been charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a Class D felony); two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (a Class E felony); and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree (a Class A misdemeanor). Thomas “strongly disputed” the allegations against him, and described them as “claims of a technical nature relating to Election Law, campaign finance and ethics disclosures.”

Read news coverage from the Journal News, the New York Law Journal and Politico NY.