VIP days are over Leggerio bilked 1 2 from state
VIP days are over
Leggerio bilked $1.2 from state
GUILDERLAND Nine years of living the high life off of stolen state funds came to an end on Tuesday for James L. Leggiero.
Pleading guilty to first-degree grand larceny, a class B felony, Leggiero admitted in Albany County Court that he bilked New York out of $1.2 million. Still free on $50,000 bail, Leggiero will be sentenced on July 2 by Albany County Judge Thomas Breslin and faces three to 10 years in state prison.
According to his plea agreement obtained by The Enterprise from the state attorney generals office, Leggiero has to pay back the stolen money in addition to serving jail time.
Leggiero, 50, who lives at 135 Kennewyck Ct. in Guilderland, started a bogus company in 1998 called Very Important Properties (VIP), according to the attorney generals office. Lee Park, a spokesman for the attorney general, said Leggiero abused his position as a senior auditor at the states Office of Mental Health to approve approximately 80 vouchers for VIP, a company that was supposedly checking sites for group homes.
Over the course of nearly a decade, Laggiero took the vouchers that ranged from hundreds of dollars to nearly a $100,000 and placed them into a checking account linked to the fake VIP company, Park said. He then used the used the funds in that business account for personal expenses.
Park said the money stolen totaled $1,232,072, and that he used the money to buy high-end sports cars and more than one home.
"We are pleased with the outcome," Park told The Enterprise yesterday. "He’s going to state prison and he’s paying back what he stole."
Leggieros attorney, Stephen Coffey, confirmed the plea agreements stipulations and said that they were acceptable.
"Let’s just say"It wasn’t an unfair agreement," Coffey told The Enterprise. "It’s an agreement that was made with the court and it’s an agreement that he will have to live with."
Part of Leggerio’s plea agreement also states that he must resign from his $79,000-a-year job with the state and agree "not to seek any future New York State government or public employment."
If Leggiero breaks any aspect of his deal, he will face a sentence of no less than "eight-and-one-third to twenty-five years of imprisonment," according to his court-approved plea agreement.
Leggieros wife, Kathleen, is also employed at the Office of Mental Health and was placed on paid leave after the attorney generals office froze her husbands bank accounts and seized his vehicles in connection with its investigation of the fake company.
Coffey maintains that Kathleen Leggerio did not know of any wrongdoing and has never been criminally implicated in the matter. Court papers say her name was linked to VIP, but never linked her to criminal activity.
Park said the attorney generals office did not investigate Kathleen Leggiero and has no intention of bringing any charges against her in the future.
Jill Daniels, the acting director of public affairs for OMH, said yesterday that Kathleen Leggiero is still on paid leave from her $77,000-a-year job.
Leggieros scheme was brought to the attention of the attorney generals office in February after the state comptrollers office performed an audit and found that VIP had no listed telephone numbers.
The Leggieros have made several donations to local soccer clubs over the years, some of which may have possibly come from the VIP scam.
Mike Kinnally, who works with the Guilderland United Soccer Club, told The Enterprise two weeks ago that it was a "tricky situation," but that, after looking at their books, they found no improprieties. Both of the Leggerio’s sons play soccer, he said.
"We’re just moving on with working with the kids," Kinnally said at the time.
The issue of how Leggiero will pay back the $1.2 million has not been fully addressed, said Park.
His 29,000-square-foot Kennewyck Circle home is assessed by the town of Guilderland at $431,300. However, his wife who has not been charged is legally entitled to half of those assets, according to Coffey.
Coffey said he couldnt answer how Leggiero would pay back the state at this time, but did defend Mrs. Leggieros interests.
"She’s got title to those assets, too," said Coffey. "She’s got an interest in these assets superior to the state’s."
Park was not able to respond before publication on how much money the state has recovered through Leggieros seized vehicles and bank accounts, but he said that repayment plans can vary greatly.
"It’s really a case-to-case basis on these types of situations," he said.
Both New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have publicly praised the outcome of this case and have stated that their offices will continue to work together in pursuing cases that involve a breach of public trust.
Special deputy attorney general for public integrity, Ellen Biben, handled this case.
Asked if Leggiero felt any remorse for what he had done, Coffey told The Enterprise, "I can’t answer for him, but"Does he regret it" Sure he regrets it. Just because he hasn’t publicly come out to state that, doesn’t mean he does not regret it."
