Members of the Democratic Caucus in Goshen are calling on the State
Attorney General to investigate a fraud scheme involving former Orange County
Executive Ed Diana.
They're demanding further
review of Diana and two others on the board of the county's Independent
Development Agency.
All three pleaded guilty
last week for lying about their employment with a company contracted by the
IDA.
Each has been ordered to pay
back more than a million dollars. "The Democratic Caucus fully supports additional
investigation, penalties and consequences to ensure that this never is allowed
to happen again," says Orange County Legislative Minority Leader James Kulisek.
Legislators are also calling
for the removal of Republican Legislator Steve Brescia. Brescia was removed from the IDA
board after officials say he turned a blind eye to the illegal activity.
Orange County District
Attorney David Hoovler responded to the Democratic Caucus' criticism of Industrial Development Agency case
saying, in part, “We looked for instances of direct
theft, the investigation revealed no such larceny, despite some critics
continuing to claim otherwise."