Presently serving a two-year sentence, former Ulster County finance commissioner Burt Gulnick has been spared additional time on his jail-cell calendar. After 19 months, an investigation initiated by the state comptroller’s office has cleared him of the suspicion of financial crimes at the county level.
“A thorough investigation by my office,” state comptroller Tom DiNapoli reported on Friday, November 23, “found no evidence that the former commissioner committed fraud in his public position.”
County taxpayers feared the worst when the commissioner resigned from the job he had held for more than ten years rather than attempt to clear his name of allegations which surfaced in early 2023. Gulnick was eventually tried and convicted for two other embezzlement schemes unrelated to his county responsibilities.
DiNapoli’s report found insufficient indications of fraud as a result of the Office of State Comptroller (OSC) investigation.
Several weaknesses in county processes and procedures were identified.
The investigation had focused on four areas.
As commissioner of finance, Gulnick was responsible for cash collections for the county. The most easy-to-abuse revenue streams — parking lot fees for county offices and tax installment collections — were audited.
Over 200 instances where Gulnick had manually adjusted time-card records for his employees were looked into.
Potential theft from estate/trusts, the accounts of individuals who pass away without will or heir and whose administration is undertaken by the county, was investigated. Finding that the commissioner had on some occasions paid appraisals and legal services to the estates up front, the OSC noted that paying for services before they are rendered may not be best financial practice, but it was not necessarily an indication of fraud.
Lastly, the OSC looked into the abuse of the vendor selection process in relation to estate/trust accounts.
“From the day I took office, former commissioner of finance Gulnick routinely resisted my information and access requests,” complained Ulster County comptroller March Gallagher. “I look forward to working with the executive and legislature to address the state comptroller’s internal controls recommendations, particularly in the areas of cash collection and recording.”
The OSC recommended that the county institute a robust segregation of duties along all revenue collection pipelines.
Gulnick is currently serving two one-year terms at the county jail, a year for each count of grand larceny which Gulnick confessed to committing. As a dishonest treasurer for both the Hurley Recreation Association and the Friends of Mike Hein election campaign, Gulnick embezzled at least $112,000.
As far as the court is concerned, Gulnick’s penance will be halfway paid in February.
Join the family! 
