Former auditor charged with 7 felonies

Former Monroe County Auditor Amy Gerstman was charged Monday with six counts of theft and one count of official misconduct for allegedly making personal purchases with a county-issued credit card.

In 2011, Gerstman submitted a claim to the Monroe County Government for alleged travel and training expenses in New York City accounting for $2,500 for which she received payment. In fact, though, she did not attend the training session nor did she use the money for any training-related purposes.

In November 2011, Gerstman reimbursed the county and released a letter to the public apologizing to the taxpayers of Monroe County for confusion surrounding the claim and for using the credit card for personal expenditures.

Gerstman had five other instances as well, such as spending nearly $100 at CATO women’s clothing store and paying her children’s $1,800 Harmony School tuition.

The official misconduct charge is due to the fact that the criminal offenses occurred while she was serving her term as the elected auditor of Monroe County.

The State Board of Accounts conducted an investigation into the use of the county-issued credit card from January 2010 to March 2012, when they discovered unauthorized uses of the credit card.

Special Prosecutor Barry Brown and Monroe County Sheriff’s Department Detective Jennifer Allen investigated the financial irregularities, which led to the charges being filed against her.

Gerstman was elected as the Monroe County auditor in November 2008.

This story will be updated.