Court clerk charged with stealing $2,000

Anastasia M. Salerno, 29, of Maple Crest, faces two felony counts and one misdemeanor, according to police.

A clerk for Village Justice William P. Wootton has been charged with stealing nearly $2,000 in cash from the court’s coffers, officials said Tuesday.

Anastasia M. Salerno, 29, of Maple Crest, was arrested on Friday, Oct. 12, and charged with the felonies of falsifying business records and tampering with public records, and with the misdemeanor of petit larceny, according to the village police blotter.

In an email, Lucian Chalfen, of the New York State Courts Inspector General’s Office, said discrepancies in “cash collections for various traffic infractions” were noticed in early July and auditors from the office were contacted and initiated an investigation.

Auditors found 16 instances, “going back to April … where monies were not properly accounted for,” Chalfen wrote.

The total larceny amounted to about $1,823, he said.

Chalfen said police and the Greene County District Attorney’s Office were notified by the Inspector General’s Office prior to Salerno’s arrest. District Attorney Joseph Stanzione could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Vincent Seeley, Catskill village president, said Salerno worked for the village for about a year and was one of two full-time court clerks. He said she was fired “as soon as we found out” about the allegations.

Seeley said he is “thankful this was found as quickly as it was” and expressed hope that the village will be fully reimbursed.

He also said he was under the impression the theft was “an isolated incident” and involved less than $1,000.

Seeley said the court clerks’ office handles roughly $20,000 in cash per year.

He said Salerno was hired “with excellent referrals.”

“You can do a background check. You can do your due diligence. But you just don’t know,” he said.

Salerno was released after her arrest with a ticket to appear in Village Court.