Robert Brown allegedly embezzled cash from the department’s membership fund and also stole from an arcade machine
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced the arrest today of a Farmingdale man for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from the Glenwood Landing Fire Company.
Robert Brown, 50, was arraigned today before Judge Scott Siller on charges of grand larceny in the third degree (a D felony), scheme to defraud in the first degree (an E felony) and official misconduct (an A misdemeanor). Bail was set at $3,000 and the defendant is due back in court on October 26.
“This defendant is charged with skimming funds from parties, parades, and fundraisers that should have gone to support the lifesaving work of the Glenwood Fire Company,” DA Singas said. “Volunteer firefighters give their time and energy freely to keep our communities safe, which makes these allegations of theft more egregious.”
DA Singas said that between January 2011 and March 2015, the defendant, a former treasurer of the Glenwood Fire Company, allegedly stole approximately $45,144 by embezzling cash from the fire company’s “Membership Fund” account. As treasurer, Brown wrote checks from this account to the event chairperson for fire company events. When the leftover cash was returned to him he allegedly withheld the money and never re-deposited it into the account.
Brown is also accused of receiving large sums of cash from an arcade machine and safe inside the fire company and never depositing the money into the bank account. The alleged thefts were first discovered by the fire company trustees when they realized $856 was left over from the 2014 annual children’s Christmas party and the sum was never re-deposited into the account.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Robert Cavallo, Deputy Chief of DA Singas’ Public Corruption Bureau. The defendant is represented by the Legal Aid.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.