Spring Valley corruption trial: Trustee Vilair Fonvil found guilty

NEW CITY - Spring Valley Trustee Vilair Fonvil today was found guilty of corruption charges accusing him of stealing $11,000 from a summer camp program, ending his stormy career as a village official.

Co-defendant Jermika Depas, the camp program's coordinator, was acquitted of all charges.

Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo found Fonvil guilty of stealing $11,000 in village funding for the 2016 summer camp program.

Fonvil showed no emotion as Russo pronounced the verdict, looking straight ahead as his sat with his hands clasped.

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The judge reminded Fonvil that he needed to show up for his sentencing and asked for his address. Fonvil, whose residency was questioned during the trial, gave Russo a Prospect Street address in Spring Valley.

As Russo told Depas “You’re free to go,” she let out a deep breath.

Fonvil left the courtroom and immediately went into a huddle with his family. He stared out the windows for several minutes while his family members comforted him.

He declined comment other than vowing to be vindicated.

Fonvil's lawyer, Kevin Dunlop expressed surprise at the verdict.

“We are disappointed and do not feel the people provided sufficient evidence to prove our client’s guilt," Dunlop said. "We truly feel we have an innocent client and we will be preparing an appeal on this matter and hopefully get the result we want there.”

The guilty verdict ends Fonvil's tenure on the village board, because a convicted felon cannot serve in an elected government position. He faces five to 15 years in prison when sentenced Feb. 20. Fonvil, 54, who had been a trustee since December 2013, remains free in the meantime.

Spring Valley Mayor Demeza Delhomme, whose term ends in December, could move to fill Fonvil's seat on the all-Democratic village board. If not, the mayor-elect, Alan Simon, would fill the position.

Fonvil was found guilty of second-degree receiving reward for official misconduct as a public official; third-degree grand larceny as a crime of public corruption; third-degree corrupting the government; and fourth-degree money laundering. All the charges are felonies.

District Attorney Thomas Zugibe called Fonvil's case "another sad example of the type of behavior that undermines our faith in government. Convictions like these send a loud and clear message that public officials who willfully defy the law will be fully investigated, prosecuted and punished for their actions. The people of Rockland County are fed up with public servants who use their positions for personal gain, rather than to provide the honest services the community expects.”

FONVIL TRIAL: Prosecutor challenges Fonvil's address, credibility

SPRING VALLEY: Vilair Fonvil denies thefts as he takes witness stand in corruption trial

DEFENSE: Spring Valley corruption trial defense witnesses testify

Spring Valley Trustee Emilia White, an opponent of Fonvil's on the village board, called Friday “a sad day for our village and our county.”

“It’s another ugly stain on our image as Haitian black folks,” White said. “And it’s just very, very sad and disappointing that Mr. Fonvil could stoop that low.”

As far as Fonvil’s plans to challenge the verdict, White said: “I hope taxpayers won’t be paying for this. An appeal is going to cost money and I hope we’re not going to be responsible for it. There’s been so many lawsuits by Fonvil and members of the board, and village taxpayers cannot continue to spend money unnecessarily like this.”

The verdict came after testimony in a trial that started Oct. 30 at the Rockland County Courthouse.

The case grew out of the village Board of Trustees' decision to spend $80,000 to send children to summer camp programs in 2016. Fonvil received approval for $24,225 to pay Depas as coordinator, six monitors and a bus company to take the children to camp in Ramapo.

Fonvil wrote the camp bus contract and the budget, and later convinced the board to lay out an additional $3,750 to pay his friend for driving the children to camp.

Prosecutor Richard Kennison Moran argued Fonvil and Depas created an $8,000 slush fund by using village vans rather than paying a bus company and then hired only three bus monitors when six were funded by the village.

Moran contended Fonvil stole $11,000 through checks cashed by two of the bus monitors and the parent of a camper.

The prosecutor also got Fonvil to admit having a romantic relationship with his co-defendant, and questioned whether the trustee actually lived in Spring Valley or with his wife and son in West Orange, New Jersey.

Fonvil denied stealing money under questioning by his attorney Kevin Dunlap, who was part of his defense team with attorney Deborah Wolikow Loewenberg. Depas, represented by attorney Samuel Coe, didn't testify and was not required by law to take the stand.

Fonvil claimed he laid out thousands of dollars in cash to pay the three monitors and got repaid with money from the cashed checks. He testified he provided the money when Depas refused to pay the monitors after they declined to fill out W-2 forms.

Fonvil also testified he gave Dupas more than $3,000 in 2015 to pay her rent and loaned other people money.

Moran argued most businesses and governments require people to punch a time clock and get paid by check. He said Fonvil paid the monitors in cash to hide how the money was spent.

Fonvil and Depas' lawyers said no money was stolen.

FONVIL CORRUPTION TRIAL: Bus monitor describes money laundering

CASH: Spring Valley corruption trial witness: I gave cash to Fonvil

IT BEGINS: Spring Valley Trustee Vilair Fonvil's corruption trial opens

INDICTMENT: Vilair Fonvil and Jermika Depas

Attorneys for the defendants blamed Delhomme for blocking the start of the camp program and holding up distribution of the $24,225 to provide transportation.

Fonvil and Mayor Delhomme often feuded since the mayor appointed Fonvil to the board in December 2013. The hostility between Fonvil and his allies on the board — Trustees Asher Grossman and Sheri McGill — and Delhomme has led to lawsuits filed by both sides, and has caused village business to grind to a halt. The cost of legal fees recently prompted an insurance carrier to drop the village's coverage.

Twitter: @lohudlegal