NEW YORK
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
A longtime executive with a clergyman’s upstate New York charity organization was arrested Wednesday on charges that she stole more than $1-million in taxpayer funds and approved a phony job for a former state legislator, the Times Union of Albany reports.
Prosecutors allege Jacqueline Gentile diverted state grants intended for drug-treatment and job-training programs to cover deficits and pay salaries at the Rev. Peter Young’s network of social-service agencies, with which she has worked for 28 years. She was also accused of falsifying records in connection with what authorities said was a no-show job for ex-state Assemblyman William F. Boyland at a Young charity.
Ms. Gentile was released on $25,000 bail. Her lawyer denied any wrongdoing, and she was vehemently defended by Mr. Young, whose Schenectady-based network operates more than 100 sites statewide that provide housing and other services for the homeless, substance abusers, and ex-convicts. “I’ve been with her for approximately 30 years. In 30 years she’s a person of complete integrity,” he said.
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