THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005

D.A. BROWN: LONG ISLAND CARPENTER CHARGED WITH STEALING $2.7 MILLION FROM ESTATE OF ELDERLY FOREST HILLS MAN

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Bayshore, Long Island, man has been charged with stealing more than $2.7 million from the estate of an 80-year-old Forest Hills attorney for whom he had been named as executor.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant is alleged to have befriended an elderly Forest Hills attorney and to have had himself named as executor of the attorney’s estate, which was, at the time of his death, was in excess of $4 million. The defendant then allegedly used his position of trust to siphon off more than $2.7 million of the assets for his own personal use. His alleged conduct is a betrayal of the confidence that the victim had in him. The charges will be vigorously prosecuted.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Frank J. Moley, Jr., 69, of 1348 North Windsor Avenue in Bayshore, New York. The defendant, who is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, has been charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree. If convicted, he faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years in prison.

The District Attorney said that, according to the complaint, the victim, William H. Bender, died on May 4, 2001. His will named the defendant both as a person to receive property and as the executor of Mr. Bender’s estate. The Surrogate’s Court then issued the defendant “preliminary letters testamentary” which allowed the defendant to marshal the assets but not to distribute any assets of the estate to anyone named in the will. The complaint charges that between May 4, 2001 and June 10, 2005, the defendant illegally withdrew $2,774,236 from Mr. Bender’s estate.

District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to Lois Rosenblatt, the Public Administrator of Queens County, for referring the matter to his office. Ms. Rosenblatt was named the administrator of Mr. Bender’s will by Surrogate Judge Robert L. Nahman who invalidated the will naming the defendant as executor and as a person receiving a bequest.

The investigation was conducted by Senior Accountant James Dever of the District Attorney’s Economic and Environmental Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Diane M. Peress Deputy Bureau Chief, and Detectives Joseph Brancaccio and Lester Frank of the District Attorney Detective Bureau under the supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief Investigator and Albert D. Velardi, Deputy Chief Investigator.

Assistant District Attorney Theresa E. Smith of the District Attorney’s Integrity Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of James M. Liander, Bureau Chief, and Carmencita N. Gutierrez, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a criminal charge is merely an accusation and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.