At his June 8 press conference announcing the indictment of four individuals in the Roslyn embezzlement scandal, Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon unveiled even more revelations about the alleged theft of district money.

In addition to being charged with Grand Larceny, Dr. Frank A. Tassone, the district's former superintendent, has been charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony; four counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a Class E felony; and four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, also a Class E felony.

Dr. Tassone was indicted on those charges along with Stephen Signorelli, the principal of WorldPower (WP), a Roslyn School District vendor.

Dillon also revealed that Pamela Gluckin, a former district assistant superintendent, created "wholly fictitious" companies in which she was able to receive "unwarranted payments" numbering in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In addition to indictments rendered against Dr. Tassone, Signorelli, and Ms. Gluckin, Debra Rigano, a former account clerk with the district, was also indicted by a Nassau County Grand Jury.

"Gluckin, Tassone and Rigano were arrested by my Special Investigations Bureau in 2004 and have been indicted on the same charges with the exception of Tassone," said Dillon at the Mineola press conference. "In addition to the original charge of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Tassone has been indicted along with Signorelli on nine additional charges stemming from our ongoing investigation.

"The joint indictment alleges that Signorelli, principal of WordPower (WP), which prepared and printed handbooks for the school district, padded invoices with the assistance of Tassone," Dillon continued. "From 1999 to 2004, the total payments by the Roslyn School District to WP were approximately $572,000. From January 1999 until mid October 2002, approximately $219,000 was transferred by Signorelli from the WP account to Tassone. Signorelli prepared and submitted many invoices listing charges for printing and other services. Many of the listed charges were fraudulent and were made up to pad the bills. These exorbitant bills would then be approved by Tassone, and then paid by the district. After Signorelli would receive payment he would transfer a substantial portion of the amount he received from the district to Tassone."

"As a result of these actions, the two have been indicted for Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, 4 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and 4 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree," said Dillon. According to the statement released by Dillon's office, both Dr. Tassone and Signorelli shared the same residential address in Manhattan.

Dr. Tassone was originally arrested on July 6, 2004 by the DA's Special Investigations Bureau and charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a Class B Felony, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. He was indicted on the same charge and is accused of stealing approximately $2 million.

Ms. Gluckin was arrested on June 1, 2004 by the DA's Special Investigations Bureau and was charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, a Class B Felony, which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Ms. Gluckin has been indicted on the same charge and is accused of stealing approximately $4 million from the Roslyn School District.

In addition, Ms. Gluckin, Dillon said, stole money by creating and causing payments to certain vendors who provided no services to the Roslyn School District.

Computer & Tech Services, which Dillon termed as a "wholly fictitious company created by Gluckin," was paid $177,190. Another company, HSG, did some work for the Roslyn School District, but thereafter, Pamela Gluckin billed and received an additional $62,346, Dillon added.

The former assistant superintendent, Dillon said, also had a company named HRS entered into the Roslyn School District's vendor records, which received "unwarranted payments" totaling $74,923. Dillon said that HRS rendered no services to the school district, and was the company through which Gluckin financed the purchase of jet skis.

Ms. Rigano, the niece of Gluckin, was arrested on October 18, 2004 by the DA's Special Investigations Bureau and was charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C Felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Ms. Rigano was indicted this past week on the same charge and is accused of stealing approximately $780,000 from the Roslyn School District. Dillon said that Ms. Rigano carried out this theft by drawing Roslyn School District checks for the payment of personal expenses on several credit card accounts.

"This type of public corruption is outrageous and will not be tolerated," Dillon declared. "These individuals have violated the public's trust and will be held accountable. Nassau County is an expensive place to live and raise a family and corruption such as this just adds to the public's tax burden. My Civil Forfeiture Unit has been and will continue to work diligently to seek restitution for the taxpayers of Roslyn School District."

"I applaud District Attorney Dillon's continuing efforts, through [these] arrests, to use the authority of his office to bring justice to the people of Roslyn," said New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi in response to the indictments. "My office will continue to work with the district attorney until all aspects of this scandal have been exposed and prosecuted and controls have been implemented to ensure that this type of corruption will not occur again."

For his part, Dillon thanked the comptroller and his staff for their assistance during the course of the long and still ongoing investigation.

Concerning that investigation, Dillon, not surprisingly, gave no comment on whether any of the charged individuals were working with county authorities. "Opportunities to cooperate are welcome to all defendants," Dillon added.

Bob Brackman, a deputy in the comptroller's office, while calling the embezzlement a "tragedy for the people of Roslyn, [and] for the children of Roslyn," also reiterated his insistence on "greater internal controls" on school boards all across New York State.

Peter Mancuso, an assistant district attorney who has been working on the embezzlement scandal for months, left open the possibility that there will be "additional indictments" forthcoming.

All four defendants were arraigned in County Court on the morning of June 8. The charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.