DiNapoli: Former Dannemora Official Charged With Falsifying Time Sheets Attempting to Beef Up Retirement Benefits for Some Correction Officers

The former mayor of the Village of Dannemora was charged with falsifying time sheets aiming to allow state correction officers to claim they worked as village employees to secure more generous benefits from the state retirement system, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Essex County District Attorney Michael P. Langey and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced today. The defendant, Richard Scholl, faces charges of tampering with public records and falsifying business records.

"Richard Scholl allegedly abused his position of trust to subsidize village work at the expense of the retirement system and its members," DiNapoli said. "I will continue to safeguard the retirement system and root out those who attempt to defraud it. I thank District Attorney Langey and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James for their partnership in this ongoing investigation and for holding the defendant accountable."

"These charges demonstrate that public servants who are dishonest in their positions will be held accountable for their actions," James said. "The victims in this case are the people of New York who entrusted these two individuals to carry out their duties with integrity and moral. Our State Police members remain ready to assist the Comptroller's Office and Essex County District Attorney's Office in investigating and apprehending any individual willing to engage in fraudulent acts."

For some correction officers (COs) with lengthy service, retirement from a municipal plan provides a higher benefit than from the regular CO plan. DiNapoli's investigators found that the defendant allegedly falsified time sheets to allow COs to attempt to retire as village employees even though they were still employed by the State Department of Corrections and Community Service (DOCCS) when they retired.

As part of the scheme, the COs agreed to complete village projects such as installing sidewalks, re-carpeting the senior center, tiling town hall bathrooms and making other improvements to the village hall.

The village only paid the COs for two days of work and required them to provide all supplies and materials necessary to complete the projects, even though the projects took longer than a few days. Once completed, the defendant would falsify the COs' village timesheets, indicating that they had worked for the village prior to their retirement from the state to allow them to claim to have retired from the village.

Scholl, who's term as mayor ended in March 2023, is currently a civilian employee of DOCCS.

He was arraigned in Dannemora Village court before Justice H. Philip Maynard Jr. He is due back in court on February 2.

The investigation continues and all impacted COs' retirement applications are under review.

The charges filed in this case are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at https://www.osc.ny.gov/investigations, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.