FORMER COMPTROLLER FOR THE BRONX BOTANICAL GARDENS IS SENTENCED FOR EMBEZZLING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that Sandra Smith, a former Comptroller for the Bronx Botanical Gardens, has been sentenced to a term of up to 6 years imprisonment.

Smith, 48, of 355 Riverstone Drive, North Carolina pled guilty earlier this month to 1 count of Grand Larceny in the 2nd degree, a class "C" felony. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven L. Barrett, sentenced Smith to a term of 3 to 6 years imprisonment.

Smith, whose annual salary was approximately $70,000, embezzled large amounts of money during her eleven-month tenure as Comptroller at the Bronx Botanical Garden from October 1999 to September 2000. An internal audit, initiated following the defendant’s resignation, revealed that Smith had misappropriated charitable funds earmarked for the Botanical Gardens by placing the funds in her personal accounts.

Smith used some of the money to finance a lavish lifestyle and pay for such basic expenses as credit card and car repair payments. Further investigation by the District Attorney’s Office uncovered the theft of nearly $170,000 more in stolen funds bringing the total of embezzled funds to an excess of $350,000.

Assistant District Attorney Robert D. Bergida prosecuted this case.