Upstate NY Bookkeeper Repays Stolen Money, Gets Prison Time

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A 63-year-old bookkeeper has been sentenced to one to three years in prison after paying back the more than $850,000 he stole from the central New York contractor he worked for.

Walter Dudas, of Solvay, was sentenced on Onondaga County Court in Syracuse on Monday. He pleaded guilty to grand larceny and tax fraud after his 2016 arrest for stealing from Spensieri Diversified, a painting and renovation contractor in Geddes.

Defense lawyer Michael Spano said Dudas felt heartfelt remorse for those he had wronged. He said Dudas also plans to pay the state about $60,000 in income taxes on the stolen funds.