http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-973270.mp3
Kingston, NY – Prosecutors in the Hudson Valley are moving forward with an extremely complex fraud case involving a former high-ranking police official. WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Greg Fry has more on the latest charges brought against a long-time member of the Kingston Police Department...
It's been just under five months since felony charges were first brought against Timothy Matthews, the former head of the city of Kingston's Detective division. The initial concern was that Matthews, on numerous occasions, allegedly filled out time sheets for work with the Kingston Police, and at the same time, documented that he was working within the Kingston City School District. The New York State Comptroller's Office made that discovery during an audit of the district. Matthews was suspended from the force.
In his role with the police department, Matthews had sole control over an evidence vault, where money and other items were kept. Police opened that safe, found thousands of dollars were missing, and Matthews was then charged with grand larceny.
That, though, appears to be the tip of the iceberg. A grand jury in Ulster County has handed up a 13-count indictment against Matthews. Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright says Matthews is charged with two counts of grand larceny, alleging that he stole more $130,000 from the city of Kingston. Carnright says Matthews is accused of stealing more than $79,000 from Ulster County.
The alleged offenses against the county are tied to a task force created in 2007 to fight gangs and drugs in the county - a task force that Matthews once led. The allegations go deeper, as Carnright says Matthews allegedly over-billed a local bank for more than three-thousand dollars for security work at a foreclosed property. Carnright says it was an ongoing scheme by Matthews. He would not give specifics, but says this has been a systematic scheme since 2002, until the time he was first arrested.
That revelation - that the thefts from the Kingston Police have been allegedly taking place since 2002 - raised questions of whether others knew what Matthews was doing. Carnright says they've found no reason to believe anyone else was involved. He says the investigation did not lead them to find that any other individual was complicit in the alleged thefts.
That means that if true, for roughly eight years, Matthews' actions went unnoticed. Kingston Mayor James Sottile was on hand for the announcement of the new charges against Matthews. Sottile says it concerns him that even one dollar was taken. He says it's about a level of trust, and he says he understands his role in this as Mayor.
Sottile has publicly defended city police Chief Gerald Keller. Sottile is serving his last year as Mayor, and Keller is retiring at the end of the year. The Mayor says there is no correlation between their departures and these allegations. He added that the police department should not be judged by the actions of one or two individuals.
In February, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced that his office would conduct an audit of the police force, to investigate any possible wrongdoing by officers.
The findings of the audit by the State Comptroller's Office have not been publicly released. Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright says they will seek an order of restitution for the city, county, and the bank involved as well. Meanwhile, a federal investigation into the county task force, also known as URGENT, which receives some federal funding, continues.
Matthews' lawyer, Michael Kavanagh, sent a statement to WAMC News, citing Matthews' 26 years of service to the community, and saying that Matthews adamantly denies the allegations, and looks forward to the opportunity to confront his accusers in court.