PAWLING RESIDENT CONVICTED OF STEALING $160,000 FROM CEMETERY
CARMEL, NEW YORK – June 26, 2018: Putnam County District Attorney Robert V. Tendy announced today that on June 25, 2018, Robert Bauer, of Pawling, NY, was convicted after a jury trial of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, and two counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.
As proven at trial, from approximately mid-2010 to mid-2015, Bauer submitted invoices to the Raymond Hill Cemetery, located in Carmel, NY for work he allegedly performed and materials he allegedly purchased on the cemetery’s behalf. Bauer was the Superintendent of Raymond Hill. He was reimbursed by the cemetery based on the invoices he submitted. However, Bauer did not actually perform the work or purchase the materials, and invoices he submitted were either wholly false or grossly inflated. Additionally, in at least one case, Bauer submitted a forged document which he claimed was an actual invoice from a vendor in support of his claim for reimbursement. In total, Bauer stole more than $160,000 from the cemetery as a result of this scheme.
Bauer is scheduled to be sentenced by County Court Judge Larry Schwartz on September 21, 2018. Bauer faces a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years’ incarceration in state prison.
D.A. Tendy would like to thank the members of the jury for their careful consideration of the evidence in this case. He would also like to thank the New York State Police and the New York Department of State, Division of Cemeteries for their assistance in the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Larry Glasser with significant assistance from Investigator Michael Benvie.
