Oath Of Comptroller

State Comptroller's audit slams former Fremont justice

A report released by the state Comptroller’s Office blasted former Fremont justice Bret Carver and the town’s failure to audit the justice’s records, stating both lacked control over the court’s financial operation.

The state’s audit of Carver’s records from January 2009 to Jan. 31, 2011, showed Carver had an unidentified balance of $2,885 in the Justice Court’s bank accounts, the court record of pending bail was too high by $700, and that he collected $1,120 he never deposited in the court bank account.

The audit also identified two cases totaling $310 that defendants had paid to the court for fines, which Carver then inaccurately reported as the cases being dismissed.

The consequences of Carver’s term as justice have already started, as he was charged by Steuben County Sheriff’s investigators with first-degree falsifying business records, a class E felony, last week.

Carver allegedly made a false entry in the monthly justice report filed with the state. In the charge, a ticket was issued in July 2010, and the person allegedly pled guilty in August 2010 and paid a $190 fine, which Carver then kept for himself and reported the ticket to the state as dismissed.

Carver also failed to deposit court funds in a timely fashion in July, August, and September 2010, and discarded information including bank statements, cancelled checks and bank deposit detail information.

His failure to keep records led to Carver being unaware of the $2,885 unidentified balance and the incorrect pending bail information, according to the audit.

“The failure of the Justice to maintain adequate accounting records and establish other control procedures significantly increased the risk that Court assets could be lost or misused and that Court activity would not be reported accurately and in a timely manner. Errors, fraud, or irregularities could occur and remain undetected and uncorrected,” said the audit.

Wednesday letters: Comptroller on Brownfield program, Selective ...

To the Editor:

I applaud the decision to unify leadership of SUNY IT and Morrisville State College under one world-class science professor. This could be the beginning of a consortium similar to the one formed between SUNY Albany and IBM affiliates in Dutchess County. To have this opportunity in Central New York is a godsend.

Make no mistake about it: No Wall Street type is coming Upstate to create jobs. Science and math drive technology, and technology drives manufacturing. That is what gave the United States the highest standard of living in the world. We can do it again.

When Pittsburgh lost the steel industry, the city fathers, along with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon Institute, forged an alliance to redirect the economy toward small, high-tech manufacturing companies. We can do it in Upstate New York with our public and private colleges. This might be the first step.

When the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, the race was on. The best high school students were pushed into science and math until the moon walk in July 1969. Although the space program continued, the intellectual capital of the scientists and mathematicians went into the private sector, producing the world’s highest standard of living.

Neither political parties nor Wall Street gave us this great life. As this age group fades, we have lost almost all manufacturing, becoming first a service economy and now, a consumer economy.

Let’s not miss this great opportunity. We have been going in the wrong direction. This one step in the right direction may be the panacea Upstate needs. Could we actually direct high school programs to complement this alliance? Am I hallucinating here?

Vince Carraway Obama improved economy he inherited

To the Editor:

Why blame President Obama? He was not in office when the economy crashed. He did not enact the bill bailing out the banks and AIG. He did enact the stimulus bill, which helped states slow their free-fall and supported schools for two years. He helped the auto industry regain profitability, with the money nearly all paid back.

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