Dutchess County District Attorney, William V. Grady, today announced a 1,330-count indictment charging a former bookkeeper with stealing almost $715,000.00

Dutchess County District Attorney, William V. Grady, today announced a 1,330-count indictment charging a former bookkeeper with stealing almost $715,000.00

Dutchess County District Attorney, William V. Grady, today announced a 1,330-count
indictment charging a former bookkeeper with stealing almost $715,000.00, over the past two and a
half years, from the Fishkill Auto Body Shop in Fishkill, New York.
According to District Attorney Grady, “The success of any business, large or small, depends
on the integrity of those who are given the responsibility for financial oversight. The evidence in this
case will show that the defendant breached that trust and nearly ruined the Company by repeatedly
writing checks from the Company’s bank account and cashing them to fund her personal expenses,
and disguised the thefts as legitimate payments to vendors.”
The District Attorney’s Office said that the defendant, Suzanne Whitman, 55, of
Poughkeepsie, New York, was arraigned today before County Court Judge Edward T. McLoughlin
on an indictment charging her with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C
Felony, 627 counts of falsifying business records in the First Degree, a Class E Felony, and 702
counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, a Class D Felony. If convicted of these
crimes, the defendant will, because she has a prior felony conviction, face a prison sentence of 5-15
years. The Court was legally prohibited from setting bail on this case and the defendant was released
under the supervision of the Dutchess County Probation Department.
This case was investigated by New York State Police Investigators from the Bureau of
Criminal Investigation as well as the Special Investigations Financial Crimes Unit.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Liz Kurtz, under the
supervision of Bureau Chief Frank Petramale and the overall supervision of Chief Assistant District
Attorney Matthew Weishaupt.
*It should be noted that an indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.*