Armonk Man Arrested in Yonkers School Bus Filling Scam
An Armonk man who ran a Yonkers bus transportation company was one of two suspects arrested on Thursday in a scam where they allegedly billed the city for about $280,000 for a phantom bus route.
William Ahern, 59, of 28 High St., the owner of A Plus Transportation in Yonkers, was charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny, a Class C felony, and second-degree rewarding official misconduct, a Class E felony, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office.
Ahern’s company allegedly submitted false invoices for school bus services that were never provided to the Nepperhan Community Center.
The second suspect, Anna Sollozzo, 52, the Yonkers Board of Education Transportation supervisor, knowingly approved the invoices for payment, despite being award that the services were never provided, a district attorney spokesman said.
Sollozzo was arraigned on nine felony counts: three counts each of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and fourth-degree criminal tax fraud, and one count each of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree receiving reward for official misconduct and third-degree criminal tax fraud.
The pair was arrested and taken into custody by Yonkers Police Department detectives.
“The allegations outlined in the complaint are the essence of fraud, corruption and mismanagement,” District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in a released statement. “These defendants, over an 18-month period, conspired to defraud the City of Yonkers Board of Education, and by extension, all its students by providing non-existent services. How many music or art classes could have been maintained with that misappropriated money?
The alleged thefts took place between Sept. 24, 2012 and Apr. 11, 2014, the district attorney’s office said. They are accused of creating a phantom bus route by invoicing the Board of Education for bus pickups at the community center, when in fact, no buses ever were dispatched.
Ahern then would submit false invoices for the services that were never provided. His company had bus service contracts with the City of Yonkers for about $2.8 million during the period of time in question.
During that same period, Ahern is suspected of depositing $107,250 into Sollozzo’s personal bank account. Sollozzo neglected to remit a total of $282,398 to New York State Income Tax between March 8, 2011, and Apr.14, 2014.
The fraud was exposed as the Yonkers Inspector General was investigating an unrelated complaint. Each suspect faces up to 15 years in prison.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
