A lengthy investigation by the Office of the State Comptroller found no evidence that disgraced former Ulster County Finance Commissioner Burt Gulnick stole county funds. But the probe found that lax controls and a lack of clear protocols left the county’s money vulnerable to theft.

The investigation by the comptroller’s office began in March 2023 after Gulnick abruptly stepped down from his job as the county’s chief financial officer amid allegations that he stole funds from the Hurley Recreation Center, a private members club where he served as treasurer. In October of that year Gulnick pleaded guilty to two counts of grand larceny, admitting that he stole $97,000 from the recreation association and another $13,000 from the campaign of former county executive Mike Hein, where he also served as treasurer. Gulnick is currently serving a two-year sentence in the Ulster County Jail.

The theft allegations set off alarm bells at the County Office Building where for the past decade Gulnick had ready access to hundreds of millions of dollars in county funds. Immediate audits and investigations were launched by both the state and county comptrollers.

In a statement released Friday, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said that his office’s investigation turned up no evidence that Gulnick’s criminal activity extended to his official duties as finance commissioner. The investigation included the examination of thousands of bank, finance, tax and payroll records, as well as files of estates and interviews with dozens of county employees.

Investigators cast a wide net looking into everything from the circumstances of Gulnick’s $120,000 retirement payout to his administration of property tax and other county revenues and potential conflicts of interest with vendors hired to administer estates overseen by the county. In the statement, County Executive Jen Metzger — who was just three months into her first term in office when the theft allegations emerged – expressed relief at the comptroller’s findings.

"It comes as a great relief that the State Comptroller's Office found no evidence of fraud after an exhaustive 19-month investigation, and the comprehensiveness of the probe gives us great confidence in the findings,” said Metzger. “I thank Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and his team for their assistance in helping us to bring closure to this chapter and I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure the highest level of fiscal responsibility in Ulster County government.”

While DiNapoli’s probe did not find evidence of theft, it did expose a number of vulnerabilities in the county’s record-keeping and fiscal controls that could be exploited by unscrupulous actors. The report made a series of recommendations to better safeguard county funds. They included clearer guidelines on payouts based on unused accruals, the establishment of protocols for handling estates administered by the county, better documentation of adjustments to employee timesheets and more safeguards on cash collections.

Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher, who repeatedly clashed with Gulick over access to financial records and conducted her own probe of county finances in the wake of the theft allegations, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the state investigation.

“From the day I took office, former commissioner of finance Gulnick routinely resisted my information and access requests,” said Gallagher. "I look forward to working with the executive and legislature to address the state comptroller’s internal controls recommendations, particularly in the areas of cash collection and recording.”