Farmingville Resident Pleads Not Guilty to Grand Larceny and Forgery in Village of Patchogue

A senior accountant clerk working for the Village of Patchogue plead not guilty Friday to charges of grand larceny in the second degree and forgery relating to the alleged theft of $192,797.99 from the village, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

Susan Roach, 41 of Farmingville, is alleged to have written 39 checks to herself forging the names of the village’s clerk and deputy treasurer between September 2007 and November 2010.

In a press conference Friday at , Mayor Paul Pontieri said the alleged theft was discovered on January 19 during the village's yearly internal audit.

Roach has worked for the village for the past 20 years, the past 10 as a full-time employee, Pontieri said. As an account clerk, she worked in the village's treasury office, the mayor added.

“To say the village government feels betrayed and angry with her theft is an understatement,” Pontieri said during the press conference.

The mayor said that the alleged theft will have an effect on how the village runs its future procedures.

“You do change procedures to accommodate for the way this was done,” Pontieri said.

“She knew the mechanisms in place since she worked in the treasurer’s office...she was somewhat in tune to how the auditors work and I think she tried to circumvent that,” said Stephen McGiff, the deputy mayor.

“Restitution of the $192,000-plus is of the utmost importance,” Pontieri said.

Roach was released on her own recognizance following her arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip.