Officials: Hempstead Man Stole From Fire Department, Lied To Become Police Officer
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - A Hempstead man is accused of stealing from his local fire department and lying to become a police officer.
The charges are raising eyebrows because Randy Stith also serves as a trustee on the struggling and bitterly divided Hempstead school board, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported.
Supporters surrounded Stith, 27, and hurried him out after his arraignment on 13 charges including grand larceny and false filing over the last three years.
District Attorney Madeleine Sings called it an outrageous betrayal of his duties.
"This defendant's alleged theft of funds that were intended to buy emergency equipment and support the lifesaving work of volunteer firefighters is an outrageous betrayal of the trust placed in him as treasurer," Singas said. "That money should have been going lifesaving material, and instead he was allegedly lining his pockets... That's a serious breach, and he'll be held accountable for that."
Stith allegedly stole $6,500 from the fire department by allegedly cashing a refund check for a canceled department trip and falsifying expenses to cover withdrawals from the company's bank account. He also allegedly forged a recommendation letter to become a Hempstead police officer which he submitted to the Nassau County Civil Service Commission after it had previously disqualified him. The NCCSC considered the letter and other materials submitted by Stith and eventually rescinded Stith's disqualification: He was sworn in as a probationary officer in June of 2017.
Hempstead Police Chief Michael McGowan said his legal team was reviewing the matter.
"It's an emotional day, emotions are running high," Stith's attorney Joseph Conway said. "These charges stem from a dispute with other members of the fire department. Mr. Stith will be cleared of all charges."
Stith sits on the bitterly fractured Hempstead school board, part of the majority that recently ousted its superintendent, who was hired to reform the district with some of the lowest graduating rates in the country.
"These are very serious allegations and if the charges are proven true, then the school board will have to address it immediately. However, we do not want to rush to judgement," a district spokesperson said.
Though terminated from the fire department and suspended as a police officer, Stith still sits on the school board.
If convicted of the most serious charge, Stith faces up to 7 years in prison.
It's not Stith's first run-in with the law. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to an harassment violation after allegedly hitting a woman with a bottle of bleach at a laundromat, splashing the chemical in her eyes.
