APRIL 26, 2000
FORMER TREASURER OF A FUND MAINTAINED BY MEMBERS OF THE WOODHAVEN SENIOR CENTER ARRAIGNED TODAY FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING $26,000 FROM FUND
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the arraignment of the former treasurer of the Woodhaven Senior Center on charges of stealing over $26,000 from the Center in order to help her grandson who was having business difficulties.
District Attorney Brown said, "No matter what the defendant's motivation, these monies were raised by and belonged to the members of the Woodhaven Senior Center. The monies were intended to fund trips, dances and other activities for the center's members, not for the defendant's personal use. We will make every effort to see to it that the monies are repaid."
District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Julia Saunders, 76, of 88-29 78th Street, Woodhaven. She is charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, which carries a maximum 15 year penalty or a fine up to two times the amount of the illegal gain, and Falsifying Business Records. She will be arraigned this morning in Queens Criminal Court.
According to the District Attorney, the defendant has been the treasurer of the Friends of the Woodhaven Senior Center, which is located at 87-04 88th Avenue in Woodhaven, for the past 20 years. It is alleged that in January 1999, the defendant asked the Center's manager for a loan from the Fund's bank account, which consisted of monies raised by the seniors themselves for special recreational purposes, and was refused. Nevertheless, it is charged, between February 15, 1999 and January 11, 2000 the defendant who was authorized as treasurer to sign checks on behalf of the Fund, made one cash withdrawal of $15,000 and wrote several checks on the bank account for $11,576 and used the monies for her own purposes. According to the criminal court complaint filed today, she told police that she had taken the money for her grandson who was having business difficulties.
Assistant District Attorneys Dianna Megias and Lourdes Ventura of the Economic Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Diane Peress and John R. Mechmann under the overall supervision of Bureau Chief Brian J. Mich, are in charge of the case.
It is to be noted that a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.