On November 22, 2024, State Comptroller DiNapoli
and Uster County Executive Metzger announced that there is no evidence of any crimes having been committed by former Ulster County Commissioner of Finance Burton Gulnick Jr.
A forensic examination and investigation of former Commissioner of Finance Burton Gulnick Jr. found no evidence of
any crimes committed by Gulnick while he served in his government role, but did
find weaknesses in county procedures that could leave it vulnerable to fraud,
State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said.
“A thorough investigation by my office found no evidence
that the former Commissioner committed fraud in his public position,” DiNapoli said. “Despite this, we have made several recommendations to
“It was pretty shocking to learn less than three months after
coming into office that the County's long-time top finance official was accused
of pilfering funds from another organization, and I was very worried that he
could have exploited his County position to steal from taxpayers,"
said Ulster
County Executive Jen Metzger. "It comes as a great
relief that the State Comptroller's Office found no evidence of fraud after an
exhaustive 19-month investigation, and the comprehensiveness of the probe gives
us great confidence in the findings. I thank Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and his
team for their assistance in helping us to bring closure to this chapter and I
will continue to do everything in my power to ensure the highest level of
fiscal responsibility in
“I truly appreciate New York State Comptroller DiNapoli and
his investigative team for reviewing
In February 2024, Gulnick was sentenced to two years in jail
after pleading guilty to stealing over $100,000 total from local
not-for-profit, Hurley Recreational Association, and from former County
Executive Michael Hein’s campaign account. Gulnick had been removed from his
position with the Association in February 2023 after the New York State Police
opened an investigation into discrepancies in the Association’s finances.
Unrelated to his positions with the Association or the campaign, at the time of
his crimes Gulnick served as
After his crimes became known, Gulnick chose to resign
rather than be placed on leave. In light of the allegations and Gulnick’s
position in the county, County Executive Metzger requested DiNapoli’s office
investigate Gulnick’s activities in his role at the county to determine if he
had engaged in fraud against the public.
County officials initially raised the following concerns for
review: potential time theft by one of Gulnick’s employees and concerns
regarding a $120,000 payout from the county to Gulnick for unused accruals upon
his separation from employment; potential theft from estate/trust accounts
administered by the county; potential conflicts related to vendors hired in
relation to estates administered by the county; and possible theft of cash
collections from departmental revenues, including potential theft associated
with real property tax collections.
These allegations, as well as various others which arose
during the course of the examination, were fully investigated and no evidence
was provided or uncovered to support the allegations of fraud.
DiNapoli’s office reviewed and analyzed thousands of
records, including an in-depth examination of county financial and bank
records, estate files, Surrogate’s Court records, payroll records, and other
pertinent documents. Additionally, investigators conducted dozens of interviews
with relevant county officials and employees.
While no evidence of fraud was discovered, DiNapoli’s
investigators found areas where the county could improve its policies and
procedures to strengthen controls and safeguard county assets.
DiNapoli recommended
- Ensure all
supervisory adjustments or entries to employee timesheets and/or hours
worked be adequately supported with appropriate documentation indicating
the reason for the adjustment, entry, or modification;
- Review and revise
the Personnel Policy Manual section related to management accruals and
payout calculations to ensure equal application of the policy throughout
the county;
- Develop policies
and procedures over the administration of estates. This should include
recordkeeping and reporting requirements, disclosure of conflicts, and
vendor procurement for the estates;
- Ensure an estate
file with sufficient supporting documentation is maintained for each
estate administered by the county, and disbursements from each estate, as
well as commission revenues, if applicable, are properly reflected in the
county’s financial accounting system;
- Review the policies
and procedures for the collection of parking fees at the county parking
lot to maximize revenue and safeguard cash; and
- Ensure segregation
of duties for all points of cash collection and reporting, including parking
lot and real property installment payments.
In response, County Executive Metzger thanked the
Comptroller’s office for its comprehensive investigation and agreed with the
Comptroller’s findings and recommendations. Specifically, Metzger advised that
in response to the recommendations:
- All supervisory
employees were notified that they must enter a justification in the
“notes” field for all manual time punches. Ulster County Information
Services is working to implement software updates to the county’s
timekeeping system so that the “justification” field must be filled out
when supervisory adjustments are made to employee timesheets.
- The personnel
director, with input from the county comptroller, will issue guidance to
clarify payout calculation procedures and ensure a uniform application of
those procedures across all county departments.
- The commissioner of
finance will develop written, standardized policies and procedures for the
administration of estates.
- The county will
ensure all estates files contain sufficient supporting documentation, and
all commission revenues are properly reflected in the county’s financial
system.
- The county will
review its policies and procedures for the collection of parking fees at
the
- The county will
ensure segregation of duties for all points of cash collection and
reporting with regard to parking lot fees and real property installment
payments.
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.ny.gov or by mailing a complaint to:
Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor,