fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Submit Your Event
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Send Letter to the Editor
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Sennett takes aim

by Jesse J. Smith
April 2, 2016
in Politics & Government
0

Ulster County district attorney Holley Carnright is dismissing accusations of financial mismanagement by political rival Jonathan Sennett as a ploy concocted by “a desperate candidate” and fellow Democrat county comptroller Elliott Auerbach in a last-minute bid to win votes.

“He can’t talk about the issues, he can’t talk about his qualifications, so he’s inventing something that isn’t there,” said Carnright on Monday, four days after Sennett lobbed the allegations at a press conference in Kingston.

At the heart of Sennett’s claims is a six-month standoff between Carnright and Auerbach regarding protocols for the handling and disbursement of so-called “confidential investigative funds” used by the DA’s office to pay informants and bankroll undercover operations. The two elected officials came to loggerheads in February when Auerbach launched an audit of financial controls at the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices following the arrest of former Kingston police detective lieutenant Tim Matthews. At the time, Matthews was accused of stealing $9000, including investigative funds, from a safe at police headquarters. He was later indicted on multiple felony charges alleging a decade-long pattern of theft of investigative funds amounting to more than $200,000 in taxpayer money.

After meetings in February with Carnright and sheriff Paul Van Blarcum, Auerbach announced that he was freezing further disbursement of investigative funds until he was assured that effective written protocols for such disbursements were in place. In a series of written exchanges, Carnright asked Auerbach to detail problems with the protocols he had showed him at the February meeting. Auerbach responded that without a copy of the protocols in writing he would not release further funds.

It was not until seven months later, on September 21, Auerbach said, that he received the written protocols and released $1000 in investigative funds which Carnright asked for in March. Carnright said he believed that he had adequately addressed the issue of financial controls in his February meeting, and added that the protocols he showed Auerbach then — and which had been in place since 2008 — were the same ones he had submitted in writing last month.

“I had the protocols in place, and frankly I got annoyed with the whole thing,” said Carnright. “I’m a busy person.”

While the county-controlled budget line was frozen, Carnright said that his investigative team was able to draw funds from a separate “off books” account containing about $14,000. The money was part of a settlement shared with prosecutors around the state by the Manhattan district attorney’s office regarding the retail sale of knives and other dangerous weapons. The account, Carnright said, was kept separate from county coffers — and Auerbach’s oversight — to comply with the conditions of the settlement which stipulated the money could only be spent on confidential investigations. Carnright said that Auerbach had been aware of the account’s existence at least since the spring, when he advised him that the money needed to be moved from a local savings bank to a commercial bank. He added that Auerbach receives monthly bank statements from the account and money from it has been used to fund a gun-trafficking investigation.

Page 1 of 2
12Next
Tags: election 2011
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher

Jesse J. Smith

Related Posts

Woodstock music option draws ire
Politics & Government

Back to the future for Woodstock noise ordinance 

June 19, 2025
Highest state court considers Kingston’s rent regulation
Politics & Government

Big Kingston rental-law win!

June 18, 2025
Arts under attack: Trump cuts Endowment funding for Ulster County’s cultural institutions
Art & Music

Arts under attack: Trump cuts Endowment funding for Ulster County’s cultural institutions

June 18, 2025
Consolidation consultant contract approved; council comments to come
Politics & Government

Mayor sees similarities in consolidation and dissolution

June 17, 2025
Public hearings planned for proposed zoning change for the Winston Farm development
Politics & Government

Public hearings planned for proposed zoning change for the Winston Farm development

June 16, 2025
Communities join a nationwide day of defiance, showcasing true democracy
Community

Communities join a nationwide day of defiance, showcasing true democracy

June 16, 2025
Next Post

A colorful community

Weather

Kingston, NY
88°
Mostly Cloudy
5:19 am8:36 pm EDT
Feels like: 90°F
Wind: 6mph SSW
Humidity: 47%
Pressure: 30.04"Hg
UV index: 3
SunMonTue
93°F / 73°F
99°F / 72°F
100°F / 73°F
powered by Weather Atlas

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Art
    • Books
    • Kids
    • Lifestyle & Wellness
    • Food & Drink
    • Music
    • Nature
    • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletters
    • Hey Kingston
    • New Paltz Times
    • Woodstock Times
    • Week in Review

© 2022 Ulster Publishing