Former Cape Vincent town clerk gets probation for embezzlement

Former Cape Vincent Town Clerk Jeri A. Mason was sentenced Friday in Jefferson County Court to five years’ probation for embezzling nearly $30,000 from the town.

Ms. Mason, 48, of 1041 E. Joseph St., Cape Vincent, also paid $29,872 in restitution to the town for a Nov. 29 guilty plea to defrauding the government. She admitted that from April 2009 to September 2010, while working as town clerk, she falsified town records in an attempt to get a benefit, specifically money.

The case was prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office, which was brought into the investigation at the request of state police after an audit of the town’s books uncovered discrepancies in the town’s finances.

The attorney general’s office initially recommended a six-month jail sentence along with probation supervision, but did not object to the sentence imposed because restitution was paid up front.

Judge Kim H. Martusewicz made a commitment at the time of Ms. Mason’s plea that he would sentence her to no worse than probation if she paid $14,872 in restitution to the town between the plea and Friday. She previously had made $15,000 in restitution payments, according to the attorney general’s office.

“Ms. Mason abused the privilege of serving in public office and now must pay back the people she fleeced,” Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement. “As a result of our public integrity investigation, she is being held accountable for the crime of using her position to steal money from taxpayers.”

Mr. Schneiderman said Ms. Mason’s case highlights one of the public-integrity initiatives he launched last year. The effort includes a crackdown on public officials who use taxpayers’ funds for their own benefit and is part of his effort to root out waste, fraud and corruption at all levels of government.

As part of that effort, the attorney general placed public integrity officers in all 13 of his regional offices across the state.