GRAND JURY INDICTS INVESTIGATOR FOR INDIGENT DEFENDANTS
FOR ALLEGEDLY SUBMITTING FRAUDULENT BILLS TO THE CITY’S ASSIGNED
COUNSEL PLAN FOR WORK HE NEVER PERFORMED
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson and New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn announced today the arrest and indictment of an investigator for indigent defendants who allegedly billed the City and collected more than $50,000 for work that he never performed.
The grand jury charged Richard Gottfried, 52, of Media, Pennsylvania, with one count of Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree, a Class C felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment; 42 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st degree, and 42 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the 1st degree, both Class E felony offenses punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 4 years on each count. The 85 count indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the New York City Department of Investigation and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
Gottfried entered a plea of not guilty at his arraignment before State Supreme Court Justice Denis J. Boyle who set bail at $75,000.
The defendant had been listed as a Mitigation Specialist on the City’s Assigned Counsel Plan’s Expert Roster. As a Mitigation Specialist, Gottfried prepared pre-sentencing reports for court appointed attorneys representing indigent defendants. Pre sentencing reports are used to assist defense counsel in arguing for leniency when clients who have been convicted appear for sentencing.
It is alleged that between August 17, 2004 and August 24, 2005 - Gottfried stole more than $61,000 from the City by submitting fraudulent vouchers to the court for work done for sixteen attorneys representing forty-two clients.
The indictment unsealed today is the result of a complaint to the Department of Investigation in November 2005 about information that had been omitted on Gottfried’s application for a position as a Mitigation Specialist on the Assigned Counsel Plan’s Expert Roster. Gottfried allegedly had failed to mention that in 2002 he had been disqualified from serving in a similar capacity in Philadelphia. It was during the investigation into that matter that the alleged fraudulent billing came to light.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Assistant District Attorney Miriam Bell- Blair of the Arson / Auto / Economic Crimes Bureau.
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