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Former town Supervisor Francis Matthews did not know how to handle town finances or use a town computer, his wife Randi L. Matthews told state police investigators who were looking into missing town funds.
Upon taking office he entrusted all town financial responsibilities to his wife, she explained.
Then, from 2005-09 she proceeded to write and forge town checks, falsify town reports and even intercept town mail sent to her husband in order to hide her theft of more than $300,000 in town funds, according to Randi Matthews’ statement that is included in a 350-count indictment recently handed up by a Herkimer County grand jury against her.
County prosecutors brought the matter to a grand jury based on a five-month investigation by state police and findings of a state Comptroller’s Office audit of the town finances between 2004 and 2009.
Matthews, 42, through her attorney George Aney, pleaded not guilty in county court Wednesday to charges of felony grand larceny, and numerous counts of forgery and tampering with public records. She was committed to county jail on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for May 4 and motions are due by June 9. And the audit, which was prompted by town officials contacting the Comptroller’s Office, is expected to be released sometime this spring.
Matthews told investigators she gambled away the majority of the funds at Turning Stone Casino in Verona.
“My husband trusted me and I took advantage of that to feed my addiction of gambling,” she stated, adding she never used town money to pay personal bills; she said she just gambles with it.
“If I could, I would pay as much as I could back,” she adds at the statement’s conclusion.
When asked about any possible charges being filed against Francis Matthews, both a state police investigator and prosecuting attorney, Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter, said the investigation is continuing.
Carpenter said to his knowledge no additional funds are missing and the amount that was allegedly stolen comes to just under $378,000.
But Aney said in a phone interview that the husband is “not involved at all” and didn’t need legal advice or representation.
Because no charges resulted from the grand jury process, Aney feels Francis Matthews will likely not be charged. “He never really was a target of anything,” Aney added.
Randi Matthews’ statement to police investigators details the embezzlement process by which she says her husband and town officials were kept in the dark.
“Seeing how my husband relied on me to keep the books and handle the financial end of the town, it was easy for me to hide the fact that I was stealing a lot of money to gamble,” she told investigators. “If he asked me about a bill I would make an excuse and handle it behind his back.”
She admits to investigators of intercepting town mail sent to the couple’s house to hide any unpaid bills.
And she prepared the supervisor’s financial reports to the town board. The reports would have false numbers to reflect what the town should have had in accounts and not what was actually in the accounts, Matthews statement continues.
Meanwhile, she says she was writing checks to herself or to her husband and depositing the town funds into her M&T bank account. Since her husband did not know how to use the town computer at the couple’s home, she also says she controlled the checks she printed out.
Matthews continues that while her husband paid the bank bills, she was balancing the checkbook and hiding the funds there as well. Despite not having any authority to write the checks, having no official position in town government, Matthews said it was easy to forge her husband’s name on checks because he had a signature stamp at the house.
The statement also includes mention of using garnisheed wages, mainly from the Highway Department fund, in balancing town finances. She adds that she never targeted a single employee.
Matthews said she used a debit card at Turning Stone to get the cash out so she could place it on her player card, which is used to gamble at the casino.
The amounts she was taking started getting “bigger and bigger” and more difficult to hide, all the way up until there was no money in the accounts, she states. By the end of 2009 when the money ran out, she says she started not opening mail or sending out any bills. “....I knew I was in trouble,” she states.
Current supervisor, Richard Souza, who defeated Matthews in a November election last year, said unpaid health insurance bills, which resulted in several periods of canceled coverage, played a role in uncovering the missing funds.
A town councilman, Russell Zelman, who served during the period of the alleged thefts and Souza both took issue when learning Francis Matthews has not been charged.
“Yeah, I don’t see how he wouldn’t know,” Souza, who is a retired Massachusetts state trooper, said in a phone interview. He feels since the supervisor is the contact for all issues involving town finances, some of the unpaid bill notices should have reached him. “It’s a stretch for me to believe that there was only one person involved.”
Zelman has recently submitted a letter of resignation, citing health issues, and Souza said the resignation will take effect at the end of the month.
Zelman, who says he served in the military on and off during his time as a board member, including a deployment to Iraq in 2004, also commented on only the wife being charged.
“I’m a little surprised that it hasn’t happened,” he said, referring to potential charges against Francis Matthews.
As for the town board not being aware of the missing funds, Zelman said, “I believe it was done slowly. It was done without any trace other than minor discrepancies in the supervisor’s report.”
Both Souza and Zelman also believe at one point that Randi Matthews was appointed as deputy supervisor by her husband. Neither could provide an official date she was sworn into office. Souza said he would check town records.
But in her statement, Matthews said, “I want to state that I do not hold a position with the town of Fairfield at this time, however, I was handling most if not all of the town’s financial issues since my husband was elected to his position.”
Aney also said there is nothing on the record that names his client as deputy town supervisor. “No oath of office,” he said.
Many town residents over the past four months have been awaiting details of the investigation.
During a meeting Dec. 15 last year, Souza, who was sworn in two weeks early after his predecessor resigned amid the investigation, informed a crowd of close to 70 residents of the missing funds and unpaid bills.
The board has since had to borrow $200,000 to pay off bills from late 2009. Souza said spending constraints and a very tight budget year may allow for taxes to remain at current levels.
“This will help bring some closure,” Souza said.
One woman, who identified herself as a concerned town resident, said she knew Francis Matthews.
“They’re very nice people, nice family. I was very surprised,” said the resident. She also said she did not know his wife, but did sympathize with her.
“I know it happens. Stuff happens in life and you got to move on,” she said.
Doug Chapman, of Russia, said his church has had meetings with a Fairfield town church and knows the people there.
“It’s a shame,” he said, noting he did not know the people involved with the case. “There’s a lot of nice folks [from Fairfield]. I’m sorry to see the problem they are having to go through.”
Stephanie Sorrell-White also contributed to this article.
Former town Supervisor Francis Matthews did not know how to handle town finances or use a town computer, his wife Randi L. Matthews told state police investigators who were looking into missing town funds.
Upon taking office he entrusted all town financial responsibilities to his wife, she explained.
Then, from 2005-09 she proceeded to write and forge town checks, falsify town reports and even intercept town mail sent to her husband in order to hide her theft of more than $300,000 in town funds, according to Randi Matthews’ statement that is included in a 350-count indictment recently handed up by a Herkimer County grand jury against her.
County prosecutors brought the matter to a grand jury based on a five-month investigation by state police and findings of a state Comptroller’s Office audit of the town finances between 2004 and 2009.
Matthews, 42, through her attorney George Aney, pleaded not guilty in county court Wednesday to charges of felony grand larceny, and numerous counts of forgery and tampering with public records. She was committed to county jail on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.
A pre-trial conference is scheduled for May 4 and motions are due by June 9. And the audit, which was prompted by town officials contacting the Comptroller’s Office, is expected to be released sometime this spring.
Matthews told investigators she gambled away the majority of the funds at Turning Stone Casino in Verona.
“My husband trusted me and I took advantage of that to feed my addiction of gambling,” she stated, adding she never used town money to pay personal bills; she said she just gambles with it.
“If I could, I would pay as much as I could back,” she adds at the statement’s conclusion.
When asked about any possible charges being filed against Francis Matthews, both a state police investigator and prosecuting attorney, Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter, said the investigation is continuing.
Carpenter said to his knowledge no additional funds are missing and the amount that was allegedly stolen comes to just under $378,000.
But Aney said in a phone interview that the husband is “not involved at all” and didn’t need legal advice or representation.
Because no charges resulted from the grand jury process, Aney feels Francis Matthews will likely not be charged. “He never really was a target of anything,” Aney added.
Randi Matthews’ statement to police investigators details the embezzlement process by which she says her husband and town officials were kept in the dark.
“Seeing how my husband relied on me to keep the books and handle the financial end of the town, it was easy for me to hide the fact that I was stealing a lot of money to gamble,” she told investigators. “If he asked me about a bill I would make an excuse and handle it behind his back.”
She admits to investigators of intercepting town mail sent to the couple’s house to hide any unpaid bills.
And she prepared the supervisor’s financial reports to the town board. The reports would have false numbers to reflect what the town should have had in accounts and not what was actually in the accounts, Matthews statement continues.
Meanwhile, she says she was writing checks to herself or to her husband and depositing the town funds into her M&T bank account. Since her husband did not know how to use the town computer at the couple’s home, she also says she controlled the checks she printed out.
Matthews continues that while her husband paid the bank bills, she was balancing the checkbook and hiding the funds there as well. Despite not having any authority to write the checks, having no official position in town government, Matthews said it was easy to forge her husband’s name on checks because he had a signature stamp at the house.
The statement also includes mention of using garnisheed wages, mainly from the Highway Department fund, in balancing town finances. She adds that she never targeted a single employee.
Matthews said she used a debit card at Turning Stone to get the cash out so she could place it on her player card, which is used to gamble at the casino.
The amounts she was taking started getting “bigger and bigger” and more difficult to hide, all the way up until there was no money in the accounts, she states. By the end of 2009 when the money ran out, she says she started not opening mail or sending out any bills. “....I knew I was in trouble,” she states.
Current supervisor, Richard Souza, who defeated Matthews in a November election last year, said unpaid health insurance bills, which resulted in several periods of canceled coverage, played a role in uncovering the missing funds.
A town councilman, Russell Zelman, who served during the period of the alleged thefts and Souza both took issue when learning Francis Matthews has not been charged.
“Yeah, I don’t see how he wouldn’t know,” Souza, who is a retired Massachusetts state trooper, said in a phone interview. He feels since the supervisor is the contact for all issues involving town finances, some of the unpaid bill notices should have reached him. “It’s a stretch for me to believe that there was only one person involved.”
Zelman has recently submitted a letter of resignation, citing health issues, and Souza said the resignation will take effect at the end of the month.
Zelman, who says he served in the military on and off during his time as a board member, including a deployment to Iraq in 2004, also commented on only the wife being charged.
“I’m a little surprised that it hasn’t happened,” he said, referring to potential charges against Francis Matthews.
As for the town board not being aware of the missing funds, Zelman said, “I believe it was done slowly. It was done without any trace other than minor discrepancies in the supervisor’s report.”
Both Souza and Zelman also believe at one point that Randi Matthews was appointed as deputy supervisor by her husband. Neither could provide an official date she was sworn into office. Souza said he would check town records.
But in her statement, Matthews said, “I want to state that I do not hold a position with the town of Fairfield at this time, however, I was handling most if not all of the town’s financial issues since my husband was elected to his position.”
Aney also said there is nothing on the record that names his client as deputy town supervisor. “No oath of office,” he said.
Many town residents over the past four months have been awaiting details of the investigation.
During a meeting Dec. 15 last year, Souza, who was sworn in two weeks early after his predecessor resigned amid the investigation, informed a crowd of close to 70 residents of the missing funds and unpaid bills.
The board has since had to borrow $200,000 to pay off bills from late 2009. Souza said spending constraints and a very tight budget year may allow for taxes to remain at current levels.
“This will help bring some closure,” Souza said.
One woman, who identified herself as a concerned town resident, said she knew Francis Matthews.
“They’re very nice people, nice family. I was very surprised,” said the resident. She also said she did not know his wife, but did sympathize with her.
“I know it happens. Stuff happens in life and you got to move on,” she said.
Doug Chapman, of Russia, said his church has had meetings with a Fairfield town church and knows the people there.
“It’s a shame,” he said, noting he did not know the people involved with the case. “There’s a lot of nice folks [from Fairfield]. I’m sorry to see the problem they are having to go through.”
Stephanie Sorrell-White also contributed to this article.
