Fisher accused of $1.98 million embezzlement

Former Vassar Project Manager Arthur H. Fisher and his wife Jennifer Fisher were charged with felony grand larceny following an accusation of embezzling $1.98 million from Vassar construction projects following their arrest on Friday, April 1. Fisher may also face charges for unregistered weapons and false law enforcement badges found in his Ossining home.

Bail for Fisher was set at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond. He remains in the Dutchess County Jail. As of Monday, April 3, Jennifer Fisher had posted a $50,000 cash bail.

Fisher had worked as Project Manager from 2005 until December 2010. The arrest led President Catharine Bond Hill to send an all-campus email on Monday afternoon. She wrote that the arrest of a former employee followed the discovery of "financial irregularities in a limited number of campus construction accounts."

"The College cooperated fully with a police investigtation," she wrote. Vassar submitted a complaint to the police on March 10 and filed a civil case against Fisher on April 1 after weeks of a police investigation, which is still ongoing.

According to Director of Media Relations Jeff Kosmacher, the College was alerted to budget discrepancies while recently reviewing one of the projects that Fisher had managed. "There was a project that was being revisited because they were expecting to do more work with the project," said Kosmacher. "What had been spent did not jibe with what the College expected to find."

This, Kosmacher said, was the red flag that led the College to further examine the finances of Fisher's other projects. The full $1.98 million scope of the theft came from a review of multiple jobs. After continuing to review the finances, Kosmacher said that there was eventually enough evidence for the College to hand the investigation over to the Town of Poughkeepsie Police.

In cooperation with a request from the Town of Poughkeepsie Police, administrators were not able to comment on the ongoing investigation.

In her email, Hill wrote that this incident has caused the College to review its financial controls: "We are taking all available steps to recover the funds. In light of this discovery, the College is evaluating its financial and operating controls, and has already taken steps to enhance their effectiveness."

Kosmacher could not say specifically if Vassar has a process of financial review after the completion of a construction. "After the fact, I don't know," he said.

He also could not say specifically how Vassar oversees budgets during construction projects, but he added, "These projects are very closely scrutinized," including a vetting project for private contractors.

The civil case that Vassar filed against Fisher and his wife names two false companies which Fisher used to siphon off funds for personal use, C & R Construction Services and G. Shepherds. The suit alleges that Fisher pulled money from projects by "creating and submitting false requisitions in the name of a fictitious company/entity named C & R Construction Services ("C & R") which purported to provide labor, materials and/or services to Plaintiff [Vassar] for projects on which defendant Fisher served as Vassar's project manager and (b) approving payment of such false requisitions."

"In fact, C & R never provided any labor, materials or services to Plaintiff [Vassar]," the case states next.

Fisher should not have been contracting with firms with which he was associated anyway. According to Kosmacher, "Contractors must be prequalified for work even before projects are put out to bid. Evidence suggests that this project manager found a way to circumvent the pre-qualification process."

"Also, importantly, because of Vassar's conflict of interest policies a project manager cannot be associated with a company that we do business with," Kosmacher added.

One project Fisher managed was the construction of the new Town Houses, which were completed at the end of 2008. In a video interview with The Miscellany News, Fisher walked Miscellany reporters through the progress of the construction that fall. The College could not divulge the full list of projects that Fisher worked on because they are considered evidence in the investigation.

Town of Poughkeepsie Police Captain Paul Lecomte described the ongoing investigation as a "cooperative effort between us and the College."

According to Lecomte, "We'll be looking at the time before and after he was there." He said this step would "make sure there were no other issues."

The police investigation is also concerned with the weapons and false identifications found in the Fishers' home. Police found 10 unregistered handguns, one .223-caliber rifle with a grenade launcher and a collection of false law enforcement identifications, according to various reports. The police also seized four BMWs, a Ford F-150 truck and three Rolex watches. "We'll be looking into that," Lecomte said of unregistered weapons.

The firm Van De Water and Van De Water is representing the College. According to a report in The Poughkeepsie Journal, Attorney Andrew Rubin is representing Fisher.

Both Rubin and Attorney Jerry Comatos of Van De Water and Van de Water were unable to comment while the criminal case is still pending. "Upon the discovery of Mr. Fisher's actions the administration responded swiftly and decisively," said Comatos.

The next hearings for both Arthur and Jennifer Fisher have been set for April 25.