Feds: Ex-State DOT Engineer Stole Funds From Road Project

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a former New York state Department of Transportation employee overseeing a $10 million road project has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars in federal funds.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albany says 44-year-old Jerome Lauzon, of Gansevoort in Saratoga County was charged Tuesday with misappropriating at least $5,000 from a federally funded program.

Prosecutors say Lauzon was the engineer in charge of a road reconstruction project in Washington County during a five-year period ending in 2017. The Federal Highway Administration provided 80 percent of the funding for the contract.

Authorities say the project's contractor bought goods and services for Lauzon's personal use, and Lauzon reimbursed the company for the purchases using project funds.

Lauzon was released after being arraigned. It wasn't clear if he has a lawyer.