Spring Valley parking officer arrested, accused of ‘double-dipping’
Spring Valley NY November 18 2018 A 62-year-old Spring Valley parking enforcement officer faces charges of stealing nearly $5,000 in wages by working for the village and the town of Ramapo at the same time as a court officer.
Alex Fridman surrendered Friday on 43 felony count for arraignment before Clarkstown Town Justice Craig Johns. Spring Valley judges recused themselves because they know Fridman.
Fridman is accused of “double-dipping” on 43 days in 2018, stealing $4,900, prosecutors said. He got paid while working for Spring Valley at the same time he worked for Ramapo as a court officer, Executive Assistant District Attorney Richard Kennison Moran said.
“We’re alleging he goes into Spring Valley and punches into work and then goes to Ramapo and works,” Moran said.
Moran said detectives were continuing to investigate previous years.
“His actions are especially egregious because of his law enforcement positions in both Spring Valley and Ramapo,” District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said in a statement.
Fridman faces one count of third-degree grand larceny and 43 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. Johns released Fridman without bail for a Dec. 10 court appearance.
Defense attorney Kenneth Gribetz, a former Rockland County district attorney, said Fridman would plead not guilty and that he worked all the hours and more. Deborah Wolikow Loewenberg, a former prosecutor, also represents Fridman.
Gribetz said Fridman worked 35 hours a week at $17.49 an hour for Spring Valley while being an on-call officer for Ramapo Town Court.
Gribetz praised his client, saying he’d never been charged with a crime before, has been an auxiliary police officer since 1996 and has a commendation from the state Legislature and local agencies for disarming a defendant with a knife in Ramapo’s court.
“We hope the matter will be resolved in a non-criminal matter,” Gribetz said. “This fellow has never been arrested in his life.”
The larceny count carries a sentence ranging from probation to seven years in prison.
Spring Valley dismissed Fridman earlier this week after the allegations came to light but before his arrest on Friday, Gribetz said.
Ramapo town Supervisor Michael Specht said Fridman is an on-call court officer there, so the town doesn’t need to take any official action.
“He’s an hourly employee for us,” Specht said. “We’re just not going to call him for now. He has the presumption of innocence. We will have to see how this goes.”
Spring Valley Mayor Alan Simon didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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