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January 12, 2019

Former Savona Mayor arraigned on charges related to defrauding the Village


Former Savona Mayor arraigned on charges related to defrauding the Village
Source: Office of the State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

Former Savona Mayor Gregge Harrian was arraigned in Steuben County Court on felony charges of five counts of offering a false instrument for filing and five counts of misdemeanor falsifying business records. As Mayor, Harrian allegedly submitted fraudulent vouchers and falsified records to trick the village into paying his personal expenses.*

“Mr. Harrian allegedly abused his authority to deceive the residents he was supposed to serve,” State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said, “I thank District Attorney Brooks Baker and Sheriff James Allard for bringing Mr. Harrian to justice and for our continued partnership to fight public corruption.”

Harrian, 52, resigned his position and left the state after allegedly submitting dozens of unsupported, false, inaccurate or unfounded mileage and purchase claims, according to the audit and investigation. A second unnamed defendant was indicted for facilitating the alleged crimes. 

The indictment was the result of a joint investigation by Comptroller DiNapoli, Steuben County District Attorney Baker and Steuben County Sheriff Allard.

An earlier State Comptroller’s auditfound that Harrian also appointed his wife as clerk-treasurer under his supervision, in violation of the village employee handbook, and approved her unsubstantiated claims of off-hours work for $21,000 in extra pay.

* N.B. These charges are accusations and the individual is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by filing a complaint online at investigations@osc.state.ny.us, or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 14th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236. Review prior cases at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/investigations/index.htm


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