“Gulnick’s conduct is most disappointing, especially given the public trust in him, and that he stole from an organization dedicated to children, particularly at a time when children were coming out of being homebound for a lengthy period of time as a result of the pandemic.”
—Chief assistant district attorney Emmanuel Nneji
Burt Gulnick, former finance commissioner of Ulster County government, is going to prison.
Entering guilty pleas in Ulster County Supreme Court Tuesday, October 10, Gulnick confessed to using his position as treasurer of the Hurley Recreation Association to steal $97,000 from that institution and misusing his position as campaign treasurer for The Friends of Mike Hein, the campaign apparatus of the former county executive, to steal $15,000 more.
As a result of a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office, Gulnick faces anywhere from one to three years in prison.
Still unsettled is whether the disgraced numbers man might also have absconded with treasure from the county vault — and if so, how much.
Gulnick had enjoyed his position of trust, handling the money of county taxpayers for twelve years, when on March 1, 2023, rather than face the suspension of his duties pending an investigation into his job performance, Gulnick chose to resign.
County executive Jen Metzger weighed in on Gulnick’s confessions of guilt. “It is important to be clear that the DAʼs investigation pertains only to crimes committed by Gulnick as a private citizen in volunteer roles and not in his previous position as county finance commissioner,” her statement said.
The certainty of a forensic audit of county finances by the office of state comptroller Tom DiNapoli prompted Gulnick’s resignation. That audit is under way.
Prior to his sentencing date, judge Deborah Young ordered Gulnick to pay back the full $15,000 to the Hein campaign and $35,000 of the total amount missing from the Hurley Recreation Association accounts..
Hurley Rec is an organization dedicated to children and young adults which operates a summer camp, two pools, baseball fields, basketball courts, hiking trails, a snack bar and a swim team.
The $62,000 still outstanding from the Hurley Recreation Association will be paid to its insurance company, which covered the recreation association’s losses.
Ironically, Gulnick proposes to repay these amounts from funds he expects to receive after resigning from his former county position. If the state investigation turns up proof of malfeasance, it would be as though a bank teller still demanded severance pay after resigning from the bank he robbed to pay back money he stole moonlighting as a butcher’s accountant.
Under the U.S. justice code, according to the Cornell Law School, whoever takes and carries away, with intent to steal or purloin, any property or money or any other thing of value exceeding $1000 can expect to face up to ten years in prison.
His guilty pleas have considerably lessened the legal exposure Gulnick would have otherwise faced and shortened the prison sentence he could have expected had he decided to fight the charges and lost.
District attorney Dave Clegg said that Gulnick has confessed to one count of grand larceny (property value exceeding $50,000), two counts of grand larceny (property value exceeding $3000), and one count of scheme to defraud (property greater than $1000 from one or more persons).
“In an era where white-collar criminals often evade the full weight of responsibility,” Metzger continued in her statement, “I commend DA Dave Clegg and chief ADA Manny Nneji for securing a guilty plea requiring Mr. Gulnick to make full restitution and serve time in prison.”
If the state comptroller’s office can wrap up its investigation before Gulnick’s sentencing, any nagging questions which linger regarding Gulnick’s attitude to handling the public’s money could be put to rest.
“The Office of State Comptroller is conducting a forensic audit of county finances at my request to ensure taxpayer dollars are protected,” Metzger wrote, “ and we expect that investigation to conclude soon.”
Gulnick is scheduled to be sentenced on January 19.
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