CHENANGO – Pharsalia Town Supervisor Dennis Brown has pleaded not guilty to stealing more than $123,000 from taxpayers and his case is being prosecuted by the Cortland County District Attorney's Office.
“The case has been transferred to my office as a special prosecutor due to Mr. Brown being involved in local politics and local judiciary in Chenango County,” explained Cortland County DA Patrick A. Perfetti Tuesday.
On April 10 the New York State Comptroller's Office announced it had discovered more than $123,000 worth of town funds were missing following a year-long audit. The office said a criminal investigation by New York State Police arrested Brown for stealing the money to fund his personal lifestyle, pad his salary, and pay his bills.
Brown remains the longest serving Chenango County supervisor and has been on the board for 35 years. He sits on the county’s finance and public works committees.
Brown, 70, of South Plymouth, is charged with 2nd degree grand larceny, scheme to defraud, defrauding the government, corrupting the government and public corruption.
Perfetti said he had not ruled out a plea deal being reached in the case, saying it would greatly depend on a guilty plea and the need for restitution, with Brown paying back all, if not most of the alleged stolen funds.
“Whenever dealing with financial crime, restitution is a key issue. The numbers in this case are big. It's unclear if the defendant could reach any level of restitution suitable for the issuing of a plea deal, we don't know at this point,” said Perfetti.
“I consider this case different,” he added, “Because this is a public official dealing with money in the public treasury and there are issues of public integrity involved – this is not the normal violation of trust by an employee, but a violation of the public trust.”
The DA said Brown had been allowed to remain out of jail because the crime was not violent in nature, the defendant's age, ties to the local community, and ongoing medical needs.
On Tuesday Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairmen Lawrence N. Wilcox said the board would not take action over any allegations unless Brown pleaded guilty in court.
Wilcox said he had not spoke with Brown since the day before his arrest was announced April 8.
Asked if Brown should resign Wilcox respond, “In my opinion no. He is elected by the people of the Town of Pharsalia and until he is convicted of a felony he has every right to be a supervisor.”
