It’s unclear when and how the Village of Cobleskill may recover money from former clerk-treasurer Samantha Moyster.
In a detailed audit released last week, the State Comptroller’s Office found serious errors in village finances in 2016 and ’17, among them that Ms. Moyster received $8,828 that she shouldn’t have.
That money came from, according to the audit, “paid leave without available accruals, inaccurate health insurance buyout payments and inappropriately earned and used compensatory time earned and used compensatory time.”
The Comptroller recommended that the village seek reimbursement from Ms. Moyster, and at first the case was turned over to the State Attorney General’s Office.
Since then, the matter’s been directed to Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery.
She explained that although the Attorney General has a unit specializing in these cases, the Cobleskill one is too small for state action.
The village can pursue the case through civil or criminal court, Ms. Mallery said.
“At this point, we still have options,” she added.
At issue, however, is the workload in the DA’s office. Not only does Ms. Mallery have to “focus on the cases we have pending,” the office also must comply with new state legislation on bail reform and discovery rules.
While bail reform––basically, suspects being released–-has gotten the press, new discovery rules require DA offices across the state to review past cases.
That’s a lot of work, Ms. Mallery said, adding that even so, Cobleskill’s issue will get her attention.
“We’ll see what we can do,” Ms. Mallery said. “We’re looking at how we can collect it [the money].”