Defendant: Gerald “Gerry” Munson (DOB 05/13/54)

Nov. 28, 2018 -- Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced that Gerald Munson, a former Croton-On-Hudson Fire Department Chief and a former Croton-On-Hudson Police Officer who most recently served as the fire department treasurer, was sentenced to 1-1/2 to 4-1/2 years in state prison for Grand Larceny as a Crime of Public Corruption. The charge relates to the theft of more than $300,000 from the Croton-On-Hudson Fire Department.

Munson pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 12, 2018.

The court ordered Munson to pay restitution to the Fire Department.  At the time of his plea, Munson paid $124,383 in restitution, in addition to the $25,000 in restitution that he paid upon his arraignment. At sentencing, the court issued an Order of Restitution for the remaining restitution balance of $149,383.

Background
As fire department treasurer, Munson was responsible for maintaining the Croton-On-Hudson Fire Department bank account and financial records despite having no prior qualifications or background in accounting or financial matters. The felony complaint alleges that he used his position as treasurer to steal and conceal his theft of approximately $312,925 from the Fire Department.

The money he stole included portions of the so-called “2 Percent Money” paid annually to the Fire Department by New York State in connection with the State’s two percent tax on fire insurance. For years, Munson was able to conceal his ongoing theft by altering and manipulating the Department’s bank records. Those alterations and manipulations included his underreporting of the amount of “2 Percent Money” received by the Department in order to balance the books and hide what he stole for himself.

In February 2018, members of the Fire Department’s internal Audit Committee discovered that Munson had provided them with false 2017 bank statements. When confronted by the Audit Committee, Munson admitted he had created the false statements on his home computer; that he had stolen money from the Department’s account for his own personal use; and that he used the Fire Department’s debit card as if it were his own.

Further investigation and analysis conducted jointly by the Village of Croton-on Hudson Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Comptroller’s Office confirmed that between January 2011 and February 2018, the defendant stole approximately $312,925 from the Fire Department. This joint investigation lead to Munson’s arrest and conviction.

Village of Croton-on-Hudson Police Department arrested Munson in June 2018.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Fitzgerald, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Westchester District Attorney’s Office Investigations Division Public Integrity Bureau, prosecuted the case.

 In compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.6, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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