The chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature has been charged with grand larceny and filing dozens of false documents to improperly collect more than $15,000 of state unemployment benefits.
Martin Reid, a Republican, pleaded not guilty and was released Wednesday.
The state attorney general says Reid collected jobless benefits in 2013 after resigning from the New York State School Boards Association in the face of termination.
Authorities say that in his weekly certification for benefits, Reid said he hadn't worked and hadn't earned more than $405 in the preceding week, though he still received an annual salary of $30,000 from the county.
A call to Reid's attorney was not immediately returned.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
