Woman admits forgery charge in day care center case
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. >> Angie (Minew) Paone of West Camp pleaded guilty in Ulster Town Court to forgery, a misdemeanor, in satisfaction of felony charges that had been lodged against her in 2022, authorities said this week.
On Sept. 13, 2022, Saugerties police said Paone, who was then a director at the Speckled Frog Play Care Center in the Twin Maples Plaza, had presented officials with fake fire inspection paperwork and a phony certificate of occupancy for the center. Paone was initially charged with the felonies of falsifying business records (two counts) and offering a false instrument for filing (two counts).
In October 2022, the case against Paone was moved from Saugerties Town Court to Ulster Town Court.
On Oct. 11, 2023, “Angie Paone (pled) guilty” to one misdemeanor count of forgery “to cover all charges pending,” according to an email Wednesday from Ulster Town Court. “She was sentenced to three years’ probation, and paid a $205 surcharge,” according to the court.
Paone’s 2022 arrest followed an investigation involving the town of Saugerties Building department and the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), which charged that Paone “had intentionally filed documents she created … indicating she was in compliance with annual fire inspections,” police said at the time.
A message for Paone left at the Speckled Frog Play Care Center on Thursday was not immediately returned.
Paone is a former member of the Saugerties School Board and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Ulster County Legislature in 2015. She served on the school board and ran for office using the name Angie Minew.
As of Thursday, the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) website listed Speckled Frog Playcare as a registered provider through June 5, 2027. According to OCFS, Speckled Frog had no outstanding violations of fire safety regulations as of Dec. 12, 2023, and no outstanding violations of “annual unannounced” inspections as of Oct. 2, 2023.
Additionally, the center has no uncorrected violations in the past 24 months or longer, according to OCFS.
OCFS listed Kristina L. Gutheil as a contact at the center. She could not be immediately reached for comment.