111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 995-3586
Fax: (914) 995-2116
Oct. 27, 2016 -- Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty announced today that William Ahern (DOB 05/01/56) of 28 High St., Armonk, NY pled guilty as charged to all counts against him, namely:
- one count Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
- one count of Rewarding Official Misconduct in the Second Degree, a class “E” Felony.
The defendant as part of his plea must return in restitution $179,203 on the day of his sentence.
Over the period of nearly two years, between Sept. 24, 2012 and April 11, 2014, Ahern, the owner of A Plus Transportation, located at 57 Alexander St. in Yonkers, while aiding and abetting and acting in concert, with co-defendant Anna Sollozzo, Transportation Supervisor for the City of Yonkers Board of Education, allegedly stole approximately $313,825 from the City of Yonkers for bus services that were never provided for the Nepperhan Community Center.
The defendant created a false bus route by invoicing bus pickups at the Nepperhan Community Center, when in fact no buses ever were dispatched.
Ahern then would submit these false invoices for the services that were never provided to Sollozzo who would knowingly approve these invoices for payment, notwithstanding the fact that these services were never provided.
During this same time period, Ahern was secretly depositing monies into Sollozzo’s personal bank account totaling $107,250. A Plus Transportation had contracts for bus services with the City of Yonkers totaling approximately $2,805,612 for the period from Sept. 24, 2012 through Feb. 7, 2014.
Sollozzo, who was a Yonkers City public servant, in turn approved invoices for the buses that were intended to be provided for the Nepperhan Community Center, with full knowledge that the bus services were never provided by A Plus Transportation.
In addition, Sollozzo, from March 8, 2011 to April 14, 2014 neglected to remit a total of $282,398 to New York State Income Tax.
The fraud came to light as the Yonkers Inspector General was investigating an unrelated complaint.
Sentencing for Ahern will be on February 16, 2017.
He faces a maximum of fifteen years in prison.
Anna Sollozzo (DOB 05/06/62) of 101 Highland Ave., Yonkers, NY after having previously pled guilty to:
- one count Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony and
- one count of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, a class “D” Felony,
was sentenced on June 1, 2016 to two to six years in state prison where she is currently remanded.
Assistant District Attorney Stephen Ronco of the Public Integrity Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Brian Conway, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau are prosecuting the case.
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In compliance with Disciplinary Rule 7-107A of the Code of Professional Responsibility, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
