Selected reports and information published by New York State's Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli during the week ending March 28, 2015
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Comptroller DiNapoli Releases School Audits New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced his office completed audits of the:
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. encouraged Bronx residents to search for forgotten money belonging to them at Bronx Borough Hall. More than 444,000 accounts valued at nearly $245 million are owed to Bronx residents.
The State’s Abandoned Property Law requires banks, insurance companies, utilities, and other businesses to turn dormant savings accounts, unclaimed insurance and stock dividends, and other inactive holdings over to the State. If there has been no activity in the account for a set period of time, usually between two and five years, the money or property is considered unclaimed or abandoned. Although Section 1402 of the Abandoned Property Law has a $20 threshold for such listing, the Comptroller uses a "$50 threshold” for the listings on his Internet website.
How much money is being held in the Fund? There are 31 million unclaimed funds accounts statewide valued at $13 billion.
Readers are able to search for and claim money held in the Abandoned Property Fund with the Comptroller’s user friendly online claiming system or by calling the toll-free call center at 1-800-221-9311 to speak with English or Spanish-speaking representatives from 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty plea of Thomas Capuano, the former Commissioner of the Department of Public Works of the city of Rensselaer Department of Public Works, for teaming with two DPW employees to divert $46,000 from the city by pocketing the cash from scrap metals acquired as part of their jobs with the city.
Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty plea of Roger Burlew, former Highway Superintendent for the Town of Erin, in a public corruption case involving the theft of more than $65,000 in goods and services from the town. Burlew entered a guilty plea before The Honorable James Hayden in Chemung County Court to the charge of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C Felony. As part of a plea agreement, Burlew will be sentenced to six months of incarceration and a period of five years of probation. Burlew will also pay $65,000 in restitution to cover the cost of what was stolen.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that United States Steel Corporation has agreed to the New York State Common Retirement Fund’s request that it publicly report its corporate political spending. As a result of the agreement, the Fund withdrew a shareholder proposal it had filed for consideration at the Fortune 500 company’s annual meeting. The Fund holds approximately 907,577 shares of U. S. Steel with an estimated value of $20 million.