NY Clerk Forced to Forfeit Pension After Allegedly Stealing $1M from Village

Clerk Accused of Stealing $1M Over 19 Years

Ursu­la Stone, a for­mer clerk in the upstate New York vil­lage of Addi­son, is accused of swip­ing more than $1.1 mil­lion — about the same amount as her town’s entire annu­al bud­get — over at least 19 years.

First Pension Forfeiture Under NY’s Anti-Corruption Law

This case marks the first time New York’s pen­sion for­fei­ture law, passed as part of an ethics reform pack­age in 2011 and expand­ed in 2017, has been used in court.

Stone will have to give up her $1,920 month­ly pen­sion as a result of her alleged crimes.

Lack of Oversight Enabled Theft

A 2022 audit found that Stone had com­plete con­trol over the vil­lage’s finances with no over­sight or accountability. 

She was able to give her­self unau­tho­rized rais­es, take time off with­out deduct­ing it from her leave, and cash out unused vaca­tion time — priv­i­leges only allowed for retirees.

Resigned but Wrote One Last Check

Stone resigned in March 2023, but not before alleged­ly writ­ing her­self one last unau­tho­rized check for $26,613.

The vil­lage was able to stop pay­ment on the check before she could cash it.

Author­i­ties say Stone’s crimes “impact­ed that vil­lage on a day-to-day basis” over the course of near­ly two decades.