Tupper Lake Police on Monday charged Timothy J. Brown, 53, of Tupper Lake, with third-degree grand larceny.
Police charge from 2010 to 2013, Mr. Brown used the department credit card to pay for personal expenses, including hotel rooms at Candlewood Suites, family trips to North Carolina and a birthday celebration in Boston. He also pocketed more than $3,500 in the summer of 2013 from chicken barbecue and golf tournament fundraisers.
In a news release Monday afternoon, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said Mr. Brown “spiraled into credit card debt.”
“From plane fare to pizza, Mr. Brown used fire department money for his own benefit, even shamelessly pocketing fundraising money,” Mr. DiNapoli said in the release. “He financed trips to North Carolina and Massachusetts, including the Boston Duck Tour, using volunteer department money.”
A 30-year department veteran and treasurer for the last eight years, Mr. Brown admitted he took cash in a statement to Comptroller’s Office investigators and Tupper Lake Police Chief Eric T. Proulx.
“I cannot begin to say how many times I took cash from the fire department,” Mr. Brown said in his statement.
“Mr. Brown violated his public duty at a high cost to our village,” Mr. Proulx said in the release. “His arrest serves as a warning to others who may consider similar crimes. I thank state Comptroller DiNapoli for partnering with us in this case.”
The Comptroller’s Office is completing an audit of the missing funds and “apparent lack of oversight at the Tupper Lake VFD,” Mr. DiNapoli said in his statement.
Franklin County Assistant District Attorney David J. Hayes said his office intends to prosecute Mr. Brown to the extent of the law.
Mr. Brown was arraigned in Tupper Lake Village Court and was sent to the Franklin County jail on $5,000 cash bail.
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©2015 Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, N.Y.)
