Milton supervisor makes statement on wife’s arrest

Milton Supervisor Frank Thompson said he isn’t under investigation in connection with his wife’s alleged embezzlement of an elderly woman and would immediately resign from office if he were under investigation.

“I wouldn’t shame my county or town like that,” Thompson said, his first public statements since his wife’s May 6 arrest.

At the end of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting in Ballston Spa, Thompson made an emotional statement during which his voice broke several times.

“I don’t like the way I was attacked when this first came out,” he said.

Until now, Thompson has said little about his estranged wife, Deborah Thompson, 62, who was arrested May 6 on a third-degree grand larceny charge.

She is accused of stealing between $25,000 and $38,000 from an 83-year-old resident of the county’s Maplewood Manor nursing home for whom she was the legal guardian. The arrest came after state police conducted a several-month investigation.

Deborah Thompson is free on $5,000 bail while a special prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira, prepares a case. Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III recused himself from the case because of Frank Thompson’s powerful political position.

Deborah Thompson’s attorney, Fred Ackerman of Albany, told reporters last Thursday that Frank Thompson was unaware of his wife’s activities.

The Thompsons, while estranged, share a Ballston Spa house, and some people have questioned whether he wasn’t aware of her actions.

Frank Thompson has denied he knew anything about Deborah Thompson’s actions in interviews, but he hadn’t talked in public until Tuesday.

Thompson, 64, is currently vice chairman of the Board of Supervisors and chairman of the powerful Law and Finance Committee. Under normal circumstances, he would become the board chairman in 2012.

But after Deborah Thompson’s arrest, the Milton Republican Committee postponed a scheduled meeting on whether to endorse Thompson to run for another two-year term this November.

The Milton Ethics Committee is also reviewing a complaint made against Thompson by Tom and Bruce Boghosian, both frequent critics of Milton town government.

Thompson said he plans to serve out his current term and is looking forward to becoming board chairman next year if re-elected and then chosen by fellow supervisors.

“I’m proud of the job I’ve done for the county and the money I’ve saved it,” he said after the meeting.

He said the arrest of his wife had been devastating for himself and their two grown children.

“I’d like to thank the supervisors who backed me in my time of need,” he said. “Although you’ve got enemies, don’t ever wish this on them.”

A number of the supervisors came over to Thompson to shake his hand after he made his comments.

“You find out who your friends are,” Thompson said.

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