4 indicted in pork-barrel grant thefts

Four people were indicted yesterday on charges they schemed to pocket pork-barrel grants from a state senator close to two of the suspects and later covered it up.

Two officials with The Parent Workshop Inc., president Patricia Savage and treasurer Lynn H. Smith, were accused of grand larceny and filing false documents to get $29,950 from the nonprofit organization for work they never did teaching parents how to navigate the New York City school system.

Sen. Shirley Huntley, a Queens Democrat who founded the nonprofit in 2006, was not charged yesterday in the ongoing joint investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. They said Savage, 49, is also on the senator's staff, while Smith, 54, shares a residence with her. Huntley did not reply to requests for comment.

"The charges announced today send a strong message that those who abuse their positions to rip off taxpayers will be prosecuted," Schneiderman said.

DiNapoli said taking money from families in need is "unconscionable." Both Schneiderman and DiNapoli are former state legislators.

Since 1999, the legislature has distributed more than $900 million through so-called member items to 20,000 nonprofits in what are more commonly called pork-barrel grants.

According to the indictment, David R. Gantt, 43, a consultant to the Parent Workshop, was charged with falsifying business records to claim he was paid in cash for conducting workshops. Roger N. Scotland, 39, president of the nonprofit Southern Queens Park Association, was accused of falsifying business records to hide the theft from investigators.

All four pleaded not guilty yesterday in Nassau County, where The Parent Workshop lists its corporate address.

In 2008-09, Huntley designated a $30,000 grant from the Department of State for the nonprofit to hire a trained professional and buy supplies for parent training. Huntley designated another $125,000 the next year for the group, which the Senate later withdrew.

In 2007-08, Huntley designated a $20,000 grant to Scotland's organization. She was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and is a member of the Senate Education Committee.

Attorney Howard Birnbach, who represents Smith, said she is an attorney with no record whatsoever of any wrongdoing. "I believe the evidence is going to demonstrate that she advanced monies for corporate cause and was simply reimbursed," he said.