Milton supervisor cleared in ethics probe

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

A special prosecutor has closed the investigation of Milton Supervisor Frank Thompson without filing any charges, after he filed amended town ethics disclosure forms.

Thompson was under investigation for not listing his wife’s employer on town ethics disclosure forms between 2004 and 2011, when she worked for Belmont Management Corp. as part-time manager of a senior citizen housing complex in the town.

Fulton County District Attorney Louise K. Sira, acting as a special prosecutor in Saratoga County, directed Thompson to file amended ethics disclosure forms, and he did so on Thursday and today.

“Consequently, this investigation is now closed,” Sira said in a prepared statement today.

Thompson’s wife, Deborah, in August pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny for allegedly stealing more than $30,000 from an elderly woman she met while working for Belmont.

Thompson has maintained he and his wife were estranged, and he had no knowledge of the thefts. Sira, who was also special prosecutor in that case, said she found no evidence that Frank Thompson knew about his wife’s actions.

Thompson maintains that the investigation into his ethics forms was politically motivated.

“This was just a head-hunt for me, that’s all,” he said.

Thompson, who is currently chairman of the county Board of Supervisors Law and Finance Committee and was in line to be chairman of the county board in 2012, lost a Republican primary for town supervisor in September to challenger Daniel Lewza. That means his term in office is over on Dec. 31.

Thompson said the issue on the ethics forms was that he listed his wife’s occupation as “retired,” when he should have said she worked for Belmont Management. The amended forms say she worked for Belmont.

“These ethics forms are so stupid no one knows how to fill them out,” Thompson said.

Sira was named special prosecutor after Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III recused himself due to Thompson’s powerful political position.