BATH, N.Y. (WENY) -- Over the course of her 19-year career, former Addison village clerk and treasurer, Ursula Stone, stole over $1 million from the village. On Thursday, August 1, she was expected to be sentenced. Now, that won't happen until next week.

As WENY News previously reported here, 56-year-old Ursula Stone pleaded guilty to one count of Corrupting the Government in the First Degree in court on May 29. Stone also admitted to abusing her position and stealing money from the Village of Addison.

Investigators say she stole $1,171,362 total between January 2004 and April 2023. Stone was indicted by a Steuben County grand jury on the charges in November 2023.

"A couple weeks ago she entered a plea to Corrupting the Government in the First Degree," said Brooks Baker, the District Attorney of Steuben County. "That's a Class B Felony. She was scheduled today for sentencing, however the judge was unable to appear, so we've adjourned that to next week. Her sentencing has been set for pre-negotiation at this stage."

In the original indictment, Stone was charged on 192 felony counts. Some of those counts included Grand Larceny, Money Laundering, Falsifying Business Records, and Attempted Public Corruption. However, her one count guilty plea satisfies all other charges. 

According to New York State (NYS) officials, when Stone does appear before a judge next week, she will be sentenced to 3-9 years in state prison, be ordered to pay restitution, and forfeit her public pension. The pension forfeiture will mark a first in New York State.

"Today, as the D.A. mentioned, marks a milestone in New York State history," said Thomas P. DiNapoli, the NYS Comptroller. "This is the first case in which a public official will be forfeiting their state pension as part of their criminal sentence."

A law from 2011 and a NYS Constitutional Amendment from 2018 made it so certain public officials convicted of crimes related to their office could potentially be subject to a pension forfeiture. The responsibility lies in the hands of the prosecuting attorney with proper jurisdiction on the crime. Then, the attorney may take action to start the process of pension forfeiture by proving the defendant committed the crime relating to public office intentionally and knowingly. In Stone's case, she did admit to doing so and, as part of her sentence, agreed to forfeiting her pension.

Stone will be giving up her monthly pension payment of $1,920.

DiNapoli, Baker, and Major Samuel Spezio from the New York State Police (NYSP) gave thanks to the teams that aided in the investigation, which started in 2022. 

In the initial investigation, the Comptroller's Office found that checks payable to the village from the Addison Central School District were not deposited. 

An audit revealed that over the 19-year period, Stone systematically abused her position to steal dozens of checks meant for the village. Instead, she took the money for herself by converting the checks to certified bank checks and cashing them. According to investigators, she also gave herself unauthorized pay raises, took time off without deducting it from her credits, cashed out unused vacation time since 2004 (an option for retired employees or those who resigned), and she wrote checks for herself for unauthorized health insurance buyouts, all taken from village funds and without any oversight.

During the investigation, Stone resigned from her position in March 2023. Before she resigned, Stone wrote up a final check for herself amounting to $26,613. This check was never authorized by the board, and they were able to stop payment on the check before Stone had the opportunity to cash it.

"Miss Ursula Stone was placed in a position of trust," said Spezio, Detail Commander for NYSP. "Not only by her employer, but by the very members of this community. For her own selfish advantage, she chose to violate that trust for personal financial gain. Criminal acts typically affect one person, sometimes a few people. In this case, an entire village was the victim."

DiNapoli also said the money Stone stole could have been used to fund the needs of the Village of Addison for a year. Without this money, the village lacked much needed resources in certain areas.

"These sanctions should remind every public official that violating the public trust will not be tolerated and there will be consequences for them and their families if they choose to abuse their positions," said DiNapoli. 

On the same day that Stone pleaded guilty back in May, her attorney also brought up evidence that implicated a few alleged co-conspirators. D.A. Brooks Baker said the evidence was received; they are taking these allegations seriously and, no further comments could be made at this time. But, as far as Stone is concerned, the investigation is closed.

Stone's new sentencing date is set for Wednesday, August 7.