Documents: Tioga Boys & Girls director charged $11K in personal expenses
VILLAGE OF OWEGO — Court documents show the former executive director of the Tioga County Boys & Girls Club used the nonprofit organization’s credit card to pay for at least $10,828 in personal purchases.
Valerie M. Demkovich, 43, of Endicott, faces a felony grand larceny charge and has pleaded not guilty in Owego Village Court. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12.
Credit card charges totaled $16,891, with slightly more than 64 percent of that total referenced as personal purchases, court documents show. The records do not identify which charges were flagged as unauthorized, saying Demkovich “stole money in excess of $10,828.”
The charges listed in the documents span from January 2011 to October 2012. They include $3,897 in purchases at various airlines. Other charges include hundreds of dollars spent across the Southern Tier on hotels, auto repairs, groceries and gasoline, court documents show.
Although some of the listed purchases simply identify airlines, others include a city and list Demkovich by name. These cities are Mankato, Minn., in 2011, and Norwalk, Conn., twice in 2012, the documents show.
The credit card charges that list Mankato also identify another person, Ronald Demkovich, court documents show. Broome County property records list a Ronald and Gloria Demkovich as owners of 422 Payne Road in Endicott, where Tioga County sheriff’s deputies said Valerie Demkovich lives.
There are several purchases listed in Phoenix, Ariz., spanning two days in July 2012. These include $399 indicated as “airport rent a car,” along with another $184 that included various restaurants, as well as “Wild Horse Pass Hotel” and “airport parking pass,” court documents show.
Local purchases include $250 spent at the Owego Treadway Inn, and $237 at Vestal Motel charged on two separate dates. There are also seven dates in May 2011 that list hotel charges for an unidentified Kings Inn.
Another $106 was charged to “Turning Stone Online.” There is a Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Oneida County.
Syracuse Airport Inn also is listed for a $133 bill, the same date in 2011 as a $7.29 charge identified as “Continental in flight.” Three days later, there is a $464 charge for “National Car Rental.”
The court documents also list a $143 charge at Hot Cuts, an Oakdale Mall Salon, on Dec. 23, 2011. The purchase is among a handful singled out in court document “notes” written by Charles Barrett, CPA, who performed an audit used to support the charges against Demkovich.
The Tioga County Sheriff’s Office arrested Valerie Demkovich on Jan. 8, with court documents showing the charge was based on the “forensic audit,” along with a statement from Luke Henson, an employee at the Boys & Girls Club at 201 Erie St. in Owego.
Henson, 25, declined to comment for this report, referring questions to the club’s board of directors, which did not return calls.
Previously, Henson said Demkovich was fired in November by the club’s board after a monthly financial review discovered “unexplained variances.” Henson is the current executive director of the club, where he previously served as athletic director.
Calls seeking further comment about the court documents were not returned by the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office.
Demkovich, who remains free on her own recognizance, is declining to comment about the court documents, according to her attorney, Thomas Jackson, of Jackson & Bergman in Binghamton.
The attorney responded to a call seeking comment from Demkovich, who served as a board member for the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce in 2012, according to this newspaper’s archives.
Syracuse Airport Inn also is listed for a $133 bill, the same date in 2011 as a $7.29 charge identified as “Continental in flight.” Three days later, there is a $464 charge for “National Car Rental.”
The court documents also list a $143 charge at Hot Cuts, an Oakdale Mall Salon, on Dec. 23, 2011. The purchase is among a handful singled out in court document “notes” written by Charles Barrett, CPA, who performed an audit used to support the charges against Demkovich.
The Tioga County Sheriff’s Office arrested Valerie Demkovich on Jan. 8, with court documents showing the charge was based on the “forensic audit,” along with a statement from Luke Henson, an employee at the Boys & Girls Club at 201 Erie St. in Owego.
Henson, 25, declined to comment for this report, referring questions to the club’s board of directors, which did not return calls.
Previously, Henson said Demkovich was fired in November by the club’s board after a monthly financial review discovered “unexplained variances.” Henson is the current executive director of the club, where he previously served as athletic director.
Calls seeking further comment about the court documents were not returned by the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office.
Demkovich, who remains free on her own recognizance, is declining to comment about the court documents, according to her attorney, Thomas Jackson, of Jackson & Bergman in Binghamton.
The attorney responded to a call seeking comment from Demkovich, who served as a board member for the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce in 2012, according to this newspaper’s archives.
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