RENSSELAERVILLE — David R. Bryan, a former Rensselaerville supervisor, is now accused of stealing three times more than last week.

The Albany County Sheriff’s Department estimates he embezzled nearly $150,000 from three non-profit institutions in the small, rural town — the library, church, and historical society.

After accusations last week that he stole approximately $40,000 from the Rensselaerville Library and $8,000 from the Rensselaerville Trinity Church, the sheriff’s department this week said Bryan also absconded with funds from the historical society and the Albany school where he is the house principal. He held leadership positions in all four institutions.

Bryan has stolen an estimated $80,000 from the Rensselaerville Historical Society, Chief Deputy Craig Apple of the sheriff’s department said yesterday. Irene Olson, the town’s historian and treasurer of the historical society, said records have been traced back to July of 2005, and about $80,000 is missing.

Bryan, 53, was arrested by the sheriff’s department last week and charged with third-degree grand larceny. No additional charges have been made, but several are pending, said Apple.

Bryan, a lay preacher at the Rensselaerville Trinity Church, was initially believed to have stolen $8,000 from the church and deposited the money in the Rensselaerville Library account to cover the larceny.

Bryan could not be reached for comment.
Bryan had indicated "he needed help with his kids’ college," said Apple, adding that it is "a very poor excuse," and there are "other avenues" than stealing taxpayers’ money.
Apple did not have information about how much Bryan, a house principal at Abrookin Vo-Tech in Albany, had taken from the school, nor was he aware of any prior arrests. The sheriff’s department, he said, will be handing the case over to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office "in the next couple of days for grand jury action," Apple said.