State says transfer came during Lottery probe
SCHENECTADY — The state Attorney General's Office is
suing the mother of former city cop John DiGesualdo, claiming DiGesualdo
transferred her condo into his own name while she was being investigated in the
theft of $103,143 from the state Lottery.
In the lawsuit filed May 15 in state Supreme Court, the state
alleges DiGesualdo took over sole ownership of Donna J. Walsh's Rotterdam
condominium on Aug. 2 — less than a month before the state demanded Walsh pay
back the Lottery for an untold amount of scratch-off tickets she scanned at her
bar, Old Christy's Inn on Lower Broadway.
On Aug. 25, State Police arrested
Walsh on one count of second-degree grand larceny.
DiGesualdo, who retired in January, was still an
investigator with the Schenectady police in August when transferred the
two-bedroom, one bathroom condo assessed at $110,000.
The lawsuit states that the conveyance of the Bigsbee
Village property to DiGesualdo was an effort to hinder the Lottery's efforts to
collect the money from Walsh.
Walsh's attorney, Steven Kouray, said the
state is presuming DiGesualdo took the condo to avoid paying back the Lottery,
when in fact he took over full ownership of the residence off Curry Road for
other reasons. DiGesualdo had been co-owner of the property with his mother.
"There was some valuable consideration," said Kouray, confirming that
Walsh is also experiencing health problems.
Starting in 2003, Walsh ran Lottery games inside the inn,
which is on the first-floor of an apartment house on a dead-end road that
overlooks the General Electric campus. DiGesualdo owns the building, but Walsh
maintained she was the bar's sole proprietor.
According to state Lottery records submitted as evidence,
Walsh was expected to sell a minimum $699 worth of tickets each week from an
instant game vending machine. She also was provided Quick Draw. "Excellent
blue collar clientele that has been asking for Quick Draw," the Lottery
noted about the bar as part of Walsh's application in 2003.
From May 11, 2011 to June 25, 2011, the Lottery alleges
Walsh scanned the scratch-off tickets, rendering them useless for resale and
did not meet the weekly deadline to reimburse the state for the purchases.
"During a security investigation ... Walsh admitted
that she had played her own Lottery inventory and appropriated the
winnings," the lawsuit states.
Despite the large volume of tickets, Walsh won only about
$2,000.
Walsh's liquor license was suspended, and DiGesualdo has
applied to the city's planning commission to run the bar as Johnny Goo's Clam Shack.
Attorneys in Walsh's criminal case are due back in Schenectady County Court
June 15.
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