BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — On Friday afternoon former Deputy Erie County Clerk Alexander McDougall, 55, of Buffalo, was sentenced to between one year and four months and four years in prison.
As he was put in handcuffs and escorted out of court, a family member wept in the background.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office said between April 2019 and June 2023, McDougall stole around $50,000 while working as the Deputy Clerk in the Registrar’s Division of the Erie County Clerk’s Office. Prosecutors said McDougall tried altering cashier reports and submitting fraudulent bank deposit tickets.
The total amount stolen is believed to be $320,159.33. McDougall pleaded guilty to felony counts of grand larceny and offering a false instrument in August 2024. At the time, former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said McDougall has a special needs child and a disabled wife and he allegedly used the money for daily living expenses for them.
As a condition of the plea, the defendant signed Confessions of Judgment to pay full restitution to Erie County and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
"On one hand, I do feel for Mr. McDougall and his family, but on the other hand he committed a serious crime," said Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane. "We prosecuted him to the fullest extent of the law. It's important that I point that out I think, because often the public doesn't understand we did not give him a reduced plea."
Authorities said McDougall was responsible for reviewing deposit slips. An audit found that McDougall deposited county funds into his own bank account, instead of the Erie County Clerk's account.
Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns wrote a victim impact statement to Judge Sheila DiTullio. It reads in part:
Honorable Judge DiTullio,
For the benefit of the Court, I would like to respectfully summarize the effects that the criminal actions of Alexander McDougall have had on the Erie County Clerk's Office and the employees of this Office.
During the course of a series of audits of the Erie County Clerk's Office that began in early 2023, it was discovered that Mr. McDougall, in his capacity as Finance Deputy Clerk, embezzled well in excess of $50,000 of taxpayer monies over the course of several years through the use of dishonest and deceptive accounting practices. In doing so Mr. McDougall stole much more than just the public's money, he stole the public's trust in the Erie County Clerk's Office and eroded confidence in County government.
A criminal investigation that ultimately focused on Mr. McDougall culminated on March 15, 2024, when he was arrested by Erie County Sheriffs. The Erie County Clerk's Office provided all possible assistance in that investigation to help ensure accountability for Mr. McDougall as well as to restore the public's trust in this Office.
The criminal investigation into Mr. McDougall imposed incredible stress on the Erie County Clerk's Office and its employees both in terms of resources and morale. Many employees were required to take on new and additional time-sensitive responsibilities to ensure that duties that had been the responsibility of Mr. McDougall were fulfilled. The Clerk's office was subjected to ceaseless negative media coverage. Honest employees that take pride in their jobs and workplace were suddenly worried that they themselves might somehow be wrongly implicated in Mr. McDougall's criminal activities.
For that reason, I would like to emphasize the comments made by the Erie County District Attorney and the Erie County Sheriff in their announcement of Mr. McDougall's arrest in which they both made clear that Mr. McDougall, and Mr. McDougall alone, bore sole responsibility for these cnmes.
Then District Attorney John Flynn stated, "I think it is important to note that 55-year-old Alex McDougall has been arrested today. No one else from the Clerk's Office has been arrested today. And there is no indication that anyone else in the Clerk's Office is involved in this at all or has anything to do with the thefts."
