Fired Erie County deputy clerk charged with stealing over $216K from Clerk’s Office

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former Erie County deputy clerk was arraigned Friday and charged with stealing just over $216,000 in cash payments from the county Clerk’s Office, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Officials said Alexander J. McDougall, 55, allegedly stole a sum of cash over $50,000 and attempted to conceal the crime by altering cashier reports and submitting fraudulent bank deposit tickets between Jan. 1, 2021 and June 1, 2023. The total alleged theft amount is estimated to be $216,412.72.

“This defendant is accused of using his position in the Clerk’s Office to steal money from the residents of Erie County,” Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said in a release. “In addition to uncovering this brazen theft, I want to commend the Erie County Comptroller’s Office as well as our partners in the New York State Comptroller’s Office and Erie County Sheriff’s Office for their work in this ongoing investigation. While uncovering financial crimes tends to be an extensive and time-consuming process, I want the public to know that I am committed to obtaining justice and restoring their trust in government.”

The DA’s office began investigating the alleged crime following an audit by the Erie County Comptroller’s Office, and McDougall was later suspended from his position in September 2023 and subsequently fired, according to officials.

Flynn said an investigation into earlier years that could uncover more stolen funds is ongoing. He added that McDougall allegedly has a special needs child and a disabled wife, and it is believed he used the stolen money for living expenses.

“Things happen to people in life, I do have compassion,” Flynn said. “I’m going to prosecute him. I arrested him. … But obviously, I wanted to make it clear that we don’t have some kind of hardened criminal here who was using the money for a lavish lifestyle.”

McDougall turned himself in to authorities Friday and was charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and is scheduled to return to court April 15. He was released on his own recognizance.

Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns thanked authorities for their work in a Friday statement, adding that he has “zero tolerance for the misuse or theft of public dollars and for violating the public’s trust in Erie County.”

“When a public employee seemingly abuses their position in such an irresponsible way, they don’t just steal money, they are robbing the confidence that taxpayers have in their County government,” Kearns said. “Upon learning of these allegations, we took immediate steps to review and cease longstanding policies and procedures, dating back decades. New, action-oriented policies and tighter control systems for improved oversight have already been established and implemented. We have also hired a new Finance Deputy who is a Certified Public Accountant and has an extensive background in forensic auditing.”

In a separate incident, a check worth over $300,000 issued in March 2022 by the Clerk’s Office was intercepted in the mail. It was announced earlier this month that those stolen taxpayer dollars were returned to the Clerk’s Office.

You can watch Erie County officials’ Friday press conference on the arrest below.

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Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here.

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