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Lawrence Porcari Jr., the city’s Corporation Counsel pleaded not guilty in Westchester County Court on Wednesday, May 29, to a felony charge of first-degree corrupting the government. He allegedly was involved in using $365,000 from the city’s water department to assist the mayor.
Porcari was also charged with one count of grand larceny as a crime of public corruption, defrauding the government and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, all felonies.
The backlash has been swift, with the City Council demanding that Porcari step down from his position as the City's Corporation Counsel.
“Given the seriousness of the accusations and the sensitivity of Mr. Porcari’s position within the city’s government, we formally write to request you remove Mr. Porcari from the office of Corporation Counsel with immediate effect,” the Council wrote to Thomas.
“As City officers and fiduciaries of taxpayer funds, the allegations (of which you are fully aware) cut to the very heart of Mr. Porcari’s position of trust within the Mount Vernon government. To ensure the reputation, integrity, and judgment of the Mount Vernon Office of Corporation Counsel is not permanently undermined, we ask that Mr. Porcari be immediately relieved of his duties pending the outcome of his criminal trial.”
According to documents filed with the Westchester County Court, Porcari allegedly misappropriated funds from the City of Mount Vernon Board of Water Supply to pay law firms for the personal defense of Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas in criminal proceedings, as well as a public relations firm hired at the time of Thomas’s arrest in March 2018.
“New York has zero tolerance for those who cheat taxpayers, commit fraud, or violate the public trust,” Attorney General Letitia James stated. “My office is committed to rooting out corruption and bringing bad actors to justice at every level of government and in every corner of this state. Working closely with Comptroller (Thomas) DiNapoli, we will continue to diligently pursue public integrity issues so that the people of New York get the good government that they deserve.”
James said that the approval for the rate of payment for one of the law firms and the public relations firm was sought from the City’s Board of Estimate and Contract on multiple dates in April and May of 2018 but was never obtained.
Instead, Porcari allegedly arranged for payments from the funds from the Board of Water Supply, which consists of money paid by customers for their use of water and whose use is limited by state and local law to Board of Water Supply purposes.
“I’ve been telling people for months that these ‘black box’ agencies are a haven of corruption and abuse of taxpayer resources,” City Council President and mayoral hopeful Andre Wallace said. “It’s time to stop pretending that the buck doesn’t stop with Mayor Thomas, that it’s always someone else’s fault.”
Thomas has defended Porcari, issuing a statement claiming that “Larry did nothing wrong and everyone must remember that an indictment is simply an accusation based on allegations that must be proven in court.”
Wallace added that Thomas and his administration “have clearly and repeatedly acted like the rules don’t apply to them. That’s $365,000 that belongs to the people of this City.
“It could have been used to fix the sewers, clean up Memorial Field, maintain the sanitation trucks, and fill the holes on the streets, and added to the City’s budget.”
According to Wallace, “Porcari is just the latest appointee of Mayor Thomas who has run afoul of the law, including Buildings Department Commissioner Dan Jones, Deputy Police Commissioner Fraida Hickson, and Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Spiezio.”
Following his arraignment, Porcari was ordered to surrender his passport. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 5. If he is convicted, he faces a maximum term of eight and a third to 20 years in prison.
“Mr. Porcari allegedly violated both his duty as a public servant and as an attorney by diverting public money and falsifying records” DiNapoli added. “I will continue to partner with Attorney General Letitia James to expose corruption and protect taxpayer funds.”
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