U.S. Attorney's Office Investigates N.Y. Fire Dept. Over Embezzled Money

The Southern District of New York's office of the U.S. Attorney has taken over the inquiry into the Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department and what has been reported as up to $5 million in missing taxpayer funds.

According to the local publication, The Journal News, U.S. District Attorney Preet Bharara will look into the extensive financial ties between Putnam County and a company owned by Michael Klein, Mahopac VFD's former treasurer. He resigned in late September as the investigation heated up.

The embezzlement inquiry now includes the town of Carmel's cut to the MVFD's budget by $550,000 for 2016 and a revelation that the majority of the department's Board of Commissioners do not live within the taxing jurisdiction served by the department. Also, the department refuses to testify about the budget cuts, asserting the department's spending should be discussed in private, the newspaper reported.

Klein is the owner of a company called Buckshollow Emergency Equipment Corp. of Putnam Valley and has done business with several county and community emergency services agencies, the paper reported. Among the clients was the MVFD and what Buckshollow billed the fire department could help explain how the department lost up to $5 million of taxpayers funds over the past decade, the paper reported.