Former Poquott deputy mayor charged with stealing from civic association, police say

Former Poquott deputy mayor Edward Schmidt has been charged with stealing more than $1,800 from the small North Shore village's civic association when he was its president, Suffolk police said Tuesday.

Schmidt, 22, of 10 Birchwood Ave., East Setauket, was charged on Aug. 17 with one count of grand larceny and two counts of petit larceny for taking about $1,850 from the civic group between September 2013 and May 2014, police said.

Arraignment information was not immediately available Tuesday.

In an email, Schmidt declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, Tad Scharfenberg of Bohemia.

Schmidt is scheduled to appear in court in October, Scharfenberg said.

"He's an honorable young man. I've already gone through a portion of the records. I haven't found him to do anything wrong so far," Scharfenberg said. "I think there are a lot of people in the community who are standing behind him . . . He's looking forward to his day in court."

Police said Schmidt took more than $1,000 from the civic association on Sept. 19, 2013. He stole about $175 from the group on Feb. 10, 2014, and about $175 on May 19, 2014, police said.

Many Poquott residents had credited Schmidt, then a 20-year-old Stony Brook University student, with reinvigorating the civic group when he became its president in 2013. The following year, he won a seat on the Poquott Village Board and was appointed deputy mayor.

He resigned both his village and civic association posts last fall amid questions over whether serving the two groups was a conflict of interest.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.