'Questionable' Port Jeff court transactions found in audit, Suffolk DA asked to review

The state comptroller's office has asked Suffolk County prosecutors to review the findings of an audit that found a Port Jefferson court clerk altered bank records and made "questionable" financial transactions without adequate supervision.

The 19-page audit report, released Thursday by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, also found that court clerks and code enforcement officers dismissed dozens of parking tickets without approval from village judges. Those dismissals potentially caused the village to lose thousands of dollars worth of revenue, state auditors said. 

In one instance cited in the report, state auditors said they found some checks in village accounts had Port Jefferson's senior court clerk's name and address "whited out" and the signature was changed. Two additional checks totaling $325 were found to be missing from a package delivered at auditors' request for inspection, the report said. 

The report said Village Justices Tara Higgins and John Reilly, who are elected officials, were responsible for supervising court staff but told auditors they "relied on the senior court clerk to perform all financial duties and supervise the part-time clerks without any oversight."

State audits normally are aimed at educating public officials of their responsibilities and result in recommendations such as staff training and equipment upgrades.

The Port Jefferson audit is unusual because the comptroller's office said it found irregularities so egregious that the findings were referred to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Tania Lopez, spokeswoman for District Attorney Ray Tierney, declined to comment.

Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant did not dispute the findings. She told Newsday the court clerk resigned about three years ago for unspecified reasons and the chief constable was fired for reasons unrelated to the audit. The village clerk and treasurer from the period of time covered by the audit were dismissed several years ago in part because village officials were aware of problems related to the court, Garant said. 

Garant said she and the village board have no power to remove the judges, who are part of the state Unified Court System.

In a written response to the audit, Garant said the village in recent years has hired two full-time court clerks, one for each village justice. 

"Being able to bring in new personnel to these key positions has enabled us to introduce, design and create many of the needed procedures, protocols and systems necessary to develop and implement the policies and procedures between and within the departments as recommended in the report," Garant wrote in her letter, which was included in the comptroller's report.

The audit, conducted from June 2015 to May 2017, faulted village court and code enforcement staff for the following:

• The court clerk, who is not identified in the report, did not properly segregate her duties and altered bank records furnished to state auditors.
• The clerk made bank transactions without permission from judges. For example, she deposited 12 personal checks totaling $2,096 into village accounts to replace missing cash. The clerk also deposited $6,525 into the bank account of an unidentified neighboring village and transferred it two months later back into Port Jefferson accounts. 
• A $1,055 deposit made in August 2016 was not credited to a court bank account for 10 months.
• Code enforcement officers did not account for all tickets they issued or voided. Court clerks also routinely voided tickets without authorization. 
• Court records often failed to document dismissed or reduced tickets. In January and August 2016, 230 fines were reduced by a total of $18,020 and 86 tickets totaling $5,335 in potential fines were dismissed but were not recorded in court transcripts.

The report recommended Higgins and Reilly receive training to better understand their responsibility for supervising court clerks.

Auditors also recommended the village upgrade its code enforcement procedures, install up-to-date computer software and ensure court staff are adequately trained.

Garant said in her letter those recommendations have been adopted.

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.