Former Ulster County finance commissioner Burt Gulnick has been sentenced to serve two years in jail. District attorney Emmanuel Nneji had recommended a three-year sentence for Gulnick.
Handed down in connection with his theft of $97,000 from the Hurley Recreation Association during his tenure as treasurer, as well as $15,000 purloined when he was treasurer of Mike Hein’s election campaign, the February 16 sentence was the result of a plea bargain. Gulnick confessed to abusing his positions of trust and manipulating accounting records to conceal that behavior.
Gulnick’s defense attorney argued for a sentence of relative leniency, claiming that first-time criminals of Gulnick’s ilk in the Hudson Valley do not receive incarceration.
Judge Debra J. Young noted the impact statement submitted by Hurley Rec president Rich Mugge, in which he disclosed that Gulnick had told volunteer board members among others to do more fundraising at the same time that he was stealing the money.
During the sentencing, Gulnick explained that he committed these thefts because he “wanted everything for his kids and could not say no to them.”
That explanation didn’t convince Nneji.
“Blaming his blatant abuse of his authority to steal on his desire to provide everything for his children is shameful and despicable,” Nneji responded. “Many people in this county, including public officials, emergency-service providers, farmers, store clerks, cashiers, waiters, teachers, nurses, to name a few, have similar desires to provide everything for their children, but they restrict themselves to their means and make do with what they have.”
Hurley Rec suffered losses of over $97,000. Its children’s summer programs and various activities were disrupted during the 2023 school vacation break.
Gulnick was ordered to pay restitution of $35,000 to Hurley Rec and $15,000 to the Hein campaign before his sentencing date. He has done so.
He also signed confessions of judgment for two insurance companies which had paid approximately $62,000 to Hurley Rec after the thefts were discovered.
As Nneji confirmed on the record, the plea and sentence will pertain only to the crimes against Hurley Rec and the Friends of Mike Hein Campaign.
Matters relating to Gulnick’s handling of the county’s accounts and assets as Ulster County’s commissioner of finance remain under investigation by both state comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s and Ulster County comptroller March Gallagher’s offices.
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