Former public administrator employee gets 60 days for stealing $78,000

March 18, 2019 Rob Abruzzese

Brooklyn Supreme Court. Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese

Brooklyn Supreme and Family Court. Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

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A former employee of the Public Administrator’s office will spend the next 60 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than $78,000 from the estates of eight dead Brooklynites the agency was administering.

Fitzroy Thompson, a 37-year-old from Park Slope, will spend 60 days in jail, which will be followed by five years of probation. Thompson must also pay back the money by the end of the probationary term, Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun ruled on Monday.

Thompson pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny on Jan. 9.

“This public servant abused his authority as a representative of the Public Administrator’s Office by stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the estates of several deceased persons and lining his own pockets,” said Margaret Garnett, commissioner of the NYC Department of Investigation. “Now, he has a criminal felony conviction and will pay back in full the money he stole.”

Thompson worked as a case manager at the Office of the Kings County Public Administrator, which is in charge of administering the estates of Brooklynites who died without a last will and testament or family members able to administer their estates.

According to the investigation, between July 2017 and April 2018, Thompson stole a total of $78,325 from eight estates. He did this by using credit cards and checking accounts belonging to the estates to make various purchases and payments.

The more lavish purchases Thompson made included a cruise worth $2,741, the leasing of a 2016 Nissan Altima, and plane tickets to the Bahamas. He also made ATM withdrawals that exceeded $35,000, and made rent payments on two properties.

Thompson was arrested in March 2018 after the executor of one of the estates noticed charges to their relatives’ account including the cruise payments, and filed a police report. He was suspended by the Public Administrator’s office immediately and eventually resigned.

“I am committed to thwarting corruption and abuse of power and holding accountable those who betray the public trust,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “This defendant was entrusted to administer the estates of deceased individuals, but shamelessly chose to steal from them instead – causing additional grief to their loved ones.”