State Attorney Accused of Faking Records
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ALBANY — New York’s inspector general says a part-time attorney charged the state for thousands of dollars of work despite not showing up.
Acting Inspector General Dennis Martin is accusing a 13-year state employee, James McCarthy, of falsifying time and attendance records when he said he was working as an attorney for the Department of Correctional Services.
Mr. McCarthy, 52, is accused of getting paid $6,000 over 12 weeks when he didn’t show up at state offices to work. He is paid $60,867 a year as associate counsel for work that is supposed to total less than 19 hours a week.
Mr. McCarthy’s attorney, Karl Sleight, said his client is confident that an examination of the facts will show that he acted appropriately and did the work required.
“In the final analysis, the situation does not appear to be whether the work was completed, but where the documented work was completed,” Mr. Sleight said.
The case was referred to the agency for any disciplinary action. Mr. Sleight said the state attorney general’s office reviewed the case and declined to pursue it.
