Former BOCES teacher accused of pension fraud
A former BOCES criminal justice teacher and retired Westchester County Police Officer has been arrested for allegedly attempting to scam the pension system of over $157,000.
ULSTER COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - A former BOCES criminal justice teacher and retired Westchester County Police Officer has been arrested for allegedly attempting to scam the New York State and Local Retirement System for over $157,341.78. State Police arrested Anthony Sciacca, following an investigation by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and the Ulster County District Attorney's office.
According to a report, after retiring from the Westchester Police Department in 2005, Sciacca became an instructor at Ulster County BOCES teaching criminal justice which earned him a salary of over $70,000. As a state retiree under the age of 65, Sciacca could not earn more than $30k annually and receive his pension without a waiver under Section 211 of the Retirement and Social Security Law.
An investigation found that while Sciacca had a lawful waiver from September 1, 2005, through June 30, 2011, he did not have a lawful waiver for the next eight years. During this time, he continued to earn his Ulster County BOCES public salary along with his monthly pension payments.
Sciacca had allegedly supplied the retirement system with forged documents when questioned about his failure to obtain a waiver. Officials said these documents falsely showed that waivers had been approved.
Charged:
- Grand larceny
- Three-counts of forgery
- Three counts of filing a false instrument
- Three counts of falsifying business records
- One count of retirement fraud
Sciacca was arraigned in the Town of New Paltz Court. He is due back to appear in court on July 20.