People v. Dym

163 A.D.2d 150, 558 N.Y.S.2d 528, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8349
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 10, 1990
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 163 A.D.2d 150 (People v. Dym) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Dym, 163 A.D.2d 150, 558 N.Y.S.2d 528, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8349 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Eve Preminger, J., at motion to dismiss indictment; Richard T. Andrias, J., at trial and sentencing), rendered January 5, 1989, after jury trial, convicting defendant of eight counts of grand larceny in the second degree (Penal Law former § 155.35) and one count of scheme to defraud in the second degree (Penal Law § 190.60) and imposing concurrent terms of six months’ incarceration and of éVi years’ probation on each larceny conviction, with a condition that defendant be subjected to house arrest during the first IV2 years of probation, together with a fine of $5,000 as to each larceny conviction, and imposing a conditional discharge on the scheme to defraud conviction, unanimously affirmed.

Defendant was president of Gabriel Management, a managing agent for some 35 cooperative and condominium apartment buildings. In 1983 Dym devised a scheme to charge fraudulent fuel bills invoiced by a fictitious fuel company to certain of these cooperatives. The prosecution arose following two Grand Jury investigations. The first named a "John Doe” and was withdrawn by the People after preliminary background information was presented. The second named the defendant and resulted in his indictment. The defendant’s accomplice testified for the People in the later proceeding. Defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment, on the grounds that this investigation constituted a resubmission without court authorization, was denied. A later motion to set aside the verdict on the basis of newly discovered evidence, pursuant to CPL 330.30 (3), also was denied.

The trial evidence established that Gabriel Management, under the defendant’s supervision, paid fuel bills for its cooperative/ condominum clients. Among these clients were 1270 Fifth Avenue, 205-54 House, Southridge Cooperative, University Towers and River Terrace. Eloy Garcia was superintendent and Gloria Harvey was the corporation’s treasurer at Southridge. Benito Diaz was superintendent at 1270 Fifth Avenue. Harvey and Garcia testified that when fuel was delivered to Southridge, Garcia, who did not see the actual bill, would sign for delivery. The bill then would be sent to Gabriel for payment. The defendant maintained a separate checking account for each cooperative. Gabriel Management [151]*151maintained the check books and from 1983 to 1985 only defendant was authorized to sign checks. At Southridge, 1270 Fifth Avenue and 205-54 House the checks had to be countersigned by a member of the cooperative’s board of directors. After the defendant signed the check, it would be forwarded, along with the bill, to the cooperative for the second signature.

Diaz testified that at 1270 Fifth Avenue the oil tank held 18,000 gallons. Garcia testified that Southridge had two tanks totaling 18,000 gallons. Garcia would inform Marie Hogan, Gabriel’s office manager, of oil needs and defendant would place the order for fuel. Both Diaz and Garcia testified as to the ordinary fuel needs of their buildings during winter and summer months. The usual oil supplier for both buildings was All-Boro Fuel Oil Company.

John Moraites, defendant’s accomplice, testified that in 1983 he received the contract for painting and carpentry work at Southridge, subject to a 10% kickback to a Gabriel partner. Defendant thereafter monopolized Gabriel Management’s relationship with Moraites. Moraites received more work and made kickbacks directly to defendant. According to Moraites, in October 1983 defendant proposed that they establish a fictitious oil company which would bill the cooperatives for full load deliveries. Moraites then set up Lugo Fuel Corporation, obtained a certificate of doing business in the name of Lugo Fuel, opened a checking account in the name of Lugo Fuel, and printed letterhead stationery and oil delivery tickets. Only Moraites’ name appeared on these documents and the fictitious business operated out of one of Maraites’ companies. Moraites testified that commencing in January 1987, he and the defendant began to submit Lugo Fuel bills to Gabriel’s clients. Defendant instructed him how to prepare the bills and delivery tickets, including providing him with the dates, number of gallons and price per gallon. On certain occasions Moraites made mistakes in arithmetic and defendant corrected them. Defendant, who received the bills, controlled when the bills would be presented to the cooperatives for payment. Moraites never signed delivery tickets and prepared bills only at the defendant’s instruction. Defendant gave a signed cooperative check to Moraites, often immediately, and Moraites gave defendant half of the proceeds.

Defendant signed seven checks to Lugo Fuel Corporation from the 1270 Fifth Avenue account, totaling $38,117.65. Diaz testified that his name was forged on Lugo Fuel delivery tickets. Defendant signed 13 checks to Lugo Fuel from the [152]*152Southridge account each in excess of $5,000. Hogan, the office manager, testified that she did not recall seeing a Lugo Fuel bill and Garcia testified that he had not heard of the company during the period of the alleged deliveries. Some of the corresponding delivery tickets seem to have on them photocopied meter numbers from an All-Boro delivery ticket. These documents were all introduced in evidence by the People. Garcia testified that when his name appeared on a Lugo Fuel delivery ticket, it was forged. Moraites testified that he had not signed delivery tickets.

At 205 West 54th Street, or 205-54 House, in response to Lugo Fuel bills, defendant signed two checks for approximately $5,200 each. Defendant also signed checks in response to seven Lugo Fuel bills on the Long Island University Towers account. On one such bill the price had been corrected and a notation on the bill in the defendant’s handwriting states "Incorrect, I called, they agree.” The same scheme was repeated at 94-11 69th Avenue and at River Terrace apartments.

In all, Lugo Fuel submitted 37 bills and defendant signed checks totaling $183,276.29. Moraites testified that he kept $70,000 or $80,000 and that the remainder was given to the defendant. The checks were, for the most part, deposited in a Lugo Fuel bank account.

Defendant’s scheme was uncovered after officers of certain of the cooperatives discovered billing discrepancies. Defendant personally insisted on the accuracy of certain of the bills and stated that he personally had arranged for deliveries by Lugo Fuel and personally had accepted delivery slips. One cooperative officer, in reviewing defendant’s books, discovered that Lugo Fuel regularly made deliveries within four days of, and occasionally made deliveries on the same day as, deliveries by All-Boro Fuel Oil Company. Diaz testified that his own fuel log recorded no deliveries by Lugo Fuel.

Garcia testified that when he returned from a two-week vacation in July 1985, his fuel records and invoices were missing from his office. Garcia indicated that only he, the defendant, a handyman, and one other person had keys to his office. Diaz recorded a telephone conversation with defendant, a transcript of which was introduced into evidence. During this conversation the defendant complained that Diaz, in his relations with cooperative officials, was being "too positive” in stating that Diaz had logged all fuel deliveries and that Lugo had never delivered fuel. Defendant continued "as long as we [153]*153stick together, nobody can hurt us about anything” and that "the only way they can get me is if Benny Diaz stands up and says I am absolutely positive”.

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Bluebook (online)
163 A.D.2d 150, 558 N.Y.S.2d 528, 1990 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8349, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-dym-nyappdiv-1990.