Former fire department treasurer sentenced in theft

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The former treasurer of Crystal Beach Volunteer Fire Department in Gorham was sentenced Monday in Ontario County Court for stealing more than $82,000 from the department for personal expenses and shopping sprees.

Judge Frederick Reed sentenced Michael Mason, 44, of Canandaigua, to one to three years in prison and ordered him to make $82,353 in restitution.

Mason was convicted of grand larceny last month after an audit by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DiNapoli’s office and sheriff’s investigators uncovered missing funds from 2009 to 2013 when Mason wrote checks to himself, used the department’s credit card to shop at the Waterloo Premium Outlets and stole cash from barbecue and pancake breakfast fundraisers.

Mason’s wife, Victoria Coleman-Mason, was convicted of petit larceny and ordered to pay $2,100 restitution in June.

A copy of the audit is available at: http://bit.ly/1xftJq2. Allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money may be reported by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1 (888) 672-4555, filing a complaint online at [email protected], or mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 14th floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.