FORMER FINANCE DIRECTOR AT CARDINAL HAYES HIGH SCHOOL
CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today the arrest of the former Finance Director at Cardinal Hayes High School on charges of grand larceny and other offenses following a year long investigation into the alleged misappropriation of school funds totaling $67,000.
Gene Conti, 66, of Sea Cliff, Long Island, has been charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree, and one count of Falsifying Business Records in the 1st degree. The most serious charge, Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree is a Class C felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment. These charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Conti, who was accompanied by his attorney, surrendered to Bronx District Attorney Detective Investigators and later was arraigned before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez. Conti was released on his own recognizance.
From September 2005 though February 2009, Conti held dual positions as Finance Director at Cardinal Hayes High School and as Treasurer of the Cardinal and Gold Fund, a not- for-profit organization that provided funding and other support to the Roman Catholic high school.
It is alleged, in court papers, that the defendant, during his 3 ½ year tenure at Cardinal Hayes H.S., stole more than $63,000 by using a credit card on a school account to make purchases for his personal use, including meals at restaurants, gasoline, and electronic equipment. None of the purchases had anything to do with Cardinal Hayes H.S. Conti has also been accused of paying $4,000 in charges on his personal credit card with checks drawn on a Cardinal and Gold Fund account that he was not authorized to write.
It is also alleged in court papers that Conti attempted to cover up the misappropriations by either making false entries or no entries at all regarding the nature of the unauthorized payments at issue in the books and records of the Cardinal and Gold Fund.
District Attorney Johnson acknowledged the hard work of members of his staff during the year long investigation that resulted in today’s arrest, thanking in particular: Assistant District Attorney Thomas Leahy, Chief of the Rackets Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Brandler of the Rackets Bureau, Julio Santiago, Chief Financial Investigator for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, and Bronx D.A. Detective Investigators Vincent Cantarella, and Marie D’Angelo.
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