Former Newburgh Fire Chief Indicted In Pension Fraud Case

NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- A former Newburgh fire chief, charged with swindling $95,000 in pension funds, has been indicted on fraud charges, according to Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Former Newburgh Fire Chief Michael Vatter, left, is pictured with U.S Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, center, and an unidentified man last fall at the firehouse. Maloney was announcing the securing of FEMA funds for the Fire Department.
Photo Credit: *City of Newburgh Fire Department/Facebook*

Carol Reif

01/22/2016 4:30 p.m.

Michael J. Vatter, 57, of Wallkill, resigned this week in the wake of the charges, according to a report by News12.

Vatter had retired from the Newburgh Fire Department in 2000 but returned in 2009 and didn’t report his re-employment to the state, Bharara said in the indictment.

According to Bharara, under state law, a public-sector retiree who is getting a pension and returns to public service cannot legally receive both a pension and a public paycheck.

The law permits public-sector retirees to earn up to $30,000 a year from public-sector employment before they lose their benefits, he added.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed in federal court in White Plains, Vatter worked in the Newburgh Fire Department in various capacities from 1980 to May 2000. After he retired, the indictment said, he went to law school and practiced law. He returned to the department as its chief in November 2009.

Bharara said Vatter failed to report his return to the public sector and, as a result, illegally drew $95,106 in pension benefits from the state retirement system.

If found guilty of wire fraud, Vatter could face up to 20 years in prison, Bharara said.

The allegations were investigated by the FBI, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Bharara said.

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