November 19, 2014
By Stephanie West
A Crystal Beach Volunteer Fire Department treasurer stole more than $82,000 from the department for personal expenses and shopping sprees, according to an audit by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
“This treasurer abused his community’s trust and sunk so low that he stole the cash raised from fire department fundraisers,” DiNapoli said.
Judge Frederick Reed sentenced Michael Mason, 44, of Canandaigua, to one to three years in prison and ordered him to make $82,353 in restitution. Mason was convicted of grand larceny last month after DiNapoli’s office and sheriff’s investigators uncovered more than $82,000 in missing funds from 2009 to 2013. Mason wrote checks to himself, used the department’s credit card to shop at the Waterloo Premium Outlets and stole cash from barbecue and pancake breakfast fundraisers.
