Town clerk accused of stealing more than $27K

Pleasant Valley's Margaret Hart has been charged with grand larceny and official misconduct.

PLEASANT VALLEY, N.Y. » Town Clerk Margaret Hart has been charged stealing more than $27,000 from the town treasury.

Dutchess County District Attorney William V. Grady said in a press release Monday that a county grand jury indicted Hart, 57, on one felony county of grand larceny and two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct following “a comprehensive audit” of the town’s books by the state Comptroller’s Office and an investigation by state police.

Grady said Hart took the money — which included fees paid by town residents for such things as refuse tickets, marriage licenses, hunting/fishing licenses and property taxes — between 2012 and 2016.

“These were fees from town of Pleasant Valley residents, and ... [Hart] used her official position as town clerk to conceal the theft,” Grady said.

Hart was arraigned Monday before Westchester County Judge George Fufidio, who was assigned to preside as acting Dutchess County judge over the case, and then released her on her own recognizance.

According to See Through New York, Hart was paid $55,803 as town clerk and tax collector in 2017.

Hart was first elected to the four-year post of town clerk in 2011 and re-elected in 2015, according to published reports. Prior to her election as town clerk, she served for 14 years as deputy town clerk.