What had been a felony grand larceny and forgery case towards a former Fuccillo Automotive Group government has turn out to be a misdemeanor petty theft affair.
Joseph Pompo, 33, who had as soon as been accused of stealing greater than $1 million from the group, entered an Alford plea to a single depend of petit larceny on Oct. 24. Sentencing is ready for Feb. 15, 2023.
Jefferson County, N.Y., Assistant District Legal professional Cheryl Nielsen stated she could not touch upon the case till sentencing.
Beneath an Alford plea, a defendant formally declares themselves to be not responsible whereas pleading responsible, in accordance with Syracuse College regulation professor Todd Berger. The prosecution should current some proof supporting its case earlier than the decide can settle for such a plea, Berger stated.
Pompo, Fuccillo Automotive’s former company director of finance, tax, finance-and-insurance operations and reinsurance, was arrested in February 2021 on suspicion of first-degree grand larceny.
New York State Police alleged Pompo had created a reinsurance firm with out Fuccillo Automotive’s consent and used it to steal greater than $1 million from his employer.
However Pompo was by no means formally charged with the Class B felony. Pompo stated a grand jury determined to not indict him after he testified in his personal protection earlier than that physique.
New York State Police spokesman Trooper Jack Keller stated his company does not usually touch upon case outcomes.
Pompo stated the case had “deeply shaken my religion within the justice system” and known as it “probably the most tense expertise in my life.”
Pompo, a 2020 Automotive Information 40 Beneath 40 honoree, instructed Automotive Information he established the reinsurance firm with former group proprietor Billy Fuccillo Sr.’s blessing. That they had mentioned the necessity to carry Pompo’s wage according to different executives, who had been making a number of hundred thousand {dollars} extra a 12 months, Pompo stated.
Pompo stated he proposed creating his personal reinsurance enterprise to capitalize on untapped reinsurance potential on the dealership group. Any income the reinsurance firm generated would function Pompo’s wage bump, he stated. Ought to the enterprise generate such huge returns that Pompo’s compensation turned unreasonably excessive, he was to pay the surplus again to Fuccillo in a administration payment, in accordance with Pompo.
This plan was developed in 2020 earlier than Fuccillo Sr.’s stroke and 2021 dying, Pompo stated. Fucillo Automotive President Billy Fuccillo Jr. additionally was conscious of the reinsurance firm, he stated.
The Jefferson County, N.Y., grand jury indicted Pompo on one depend of third-degree grand larceny, one depend of fourth-degree grand larceny, 5 counts of second-degree forgery and 5 counts of first-degree enterprise information falsification. All are Class D or E felonies.
Pompo stated the third-degree grand larceny cost “couldn’t make much less sense.” It associated to him taking a $32,000 reimbursement from the reinsurance firm “they did not indict me on.” If the reinsurance firm was authorized, so was the transaction, he stated — it was no totally different from withdrawing cash from a checking account.
The state based mostly its fourth-degree grand larceny cost on Pompo’s refusal to return an organization laptop computer and cellphone till the dealership returned private gadgets of his, he stated. However the worth of the corporate tools fell beneath the $1,000 threshold required for the grand larceny cost below New York regulation, he stated. His possession of these gadgets finally shaped the premise for the petit larceny depend in immediately’s iteration of the case, he stated.
Pompo stated the forgery and enterprise information costs associated to his having full authority to signal paperwork on behalf of Fuccillo Sr. and Fuccillo Jr. Situations of him having exercised that authority had been introduced to the grand jury as admissions of forgery, he stated.
Messages left for Fuccillo Jr. and the group’s legal professional haven’t been returned.
All of the felony costs had been finally withdrawn by the state and changed with the only petit larceny Class A misdemeanor below a plea deal, one during which Pompo wasn’t required to confess guilt.
“Their very first provide was the provide I took,” Pompo stated.
Pompo stated a number of components led to his choice to simply accept the plea deal, together with a want for normalcy, monetary concerns, and even respect for Fuccillo Sr. and the household.
“I simply needed to transfer on,” he stated.
