UTICA (AP) -- A former director of the New York prison system's food operations who admitted defrauding the state out of $100,000 by skipping work shifts and collecting pay for the time off has avoided jail time.
The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports that Howard Dean was sentenced Wednesday by an Oneida County judge to six months under house arrest and five years of probation after prosecutors agreed he has serious medical conditions.
He had pleaded guilty in March 2011 to second-degree grand larceny. The 67-year-old Dean has so far paid $60,000 of the $100,000 he agreed to pay in restitution.
Investigators said Dean skipped work on Fridays for 17 years before he retired in 2008. State auditors said the bogus time sheets along with falsified reimbursement documents filed by Dean cost taxpayers $500,000.
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