State Comptroller DiNapoli and Ulster County DA Nneji: Former Town Supervisor Indicted for Alleged Theft of $50,000

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Official release

Source material from New York Office of the State Comptroller. The wording below is the issuer’s statement.

The former Town of Shandaken supervisor was arrested today after being indicted for allegedly obtaining a $50,000 loan using town funds without proper authorization, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel C. Nneji announced. The defendant, Peter DiSclafani, 68, of Ulster County, was charged with grand larceny in the third degree as a crime of public corruption and two counts of official misconduct.

“DiSclafani allegedly took advantage of his position to loan himself town funds for his personal benefit,” DiNapoli said. “Public service is a privilege and a duty and our officials must hold themselves to the highest standards of transparency and accountability. My thanks to District Attorney Nneji for his continued partnership in the fight against public corruption.”

Nneji said, “The Town of Shandaken has limited financial resources and many town officials are volunteers giving of their own time and resources for the benefit of the people. The role of being a Public Servant seriously conflicts with self-dealing and helping yourself as you wish just because you have access and secrecy. Public service requires the best of a public officer even when no one is looking. As with other matters that we have done together, I am grateful to State Comptroller DiNapoli for our collaboration and the excellence his team brings to our joint efforts.”

In May of 2024, DiSclafani applied for and was awarded a $50,000 loan from the Shandaken Area Revitalization Project Committee (SHARP). The SHARP committee was a not-for-profit corporation which, among other things, was paid by the town to administer loans under federal grant programs. DiSclafani, by virtue of his office, sat on the SHARP board.

After his loan was approved by the SHARP committee, DiSclafani allegedly unilaterally transferred $50,000 in town funds to the SHARP committee to fund his loan without disclosing it to the town board or receiving proper board authorization. The SHARP committee wrote DiSclafani a check for $50,000 two days later. Examination of the SHARP committee’s bank account showed that if DiSclafani had not transferred the $50,000 in town funds into the SHARP committee's account, there would have been insufficient money to issue the check to him.

On May 5, 2025, the Shandaken town board voted to end its contract with the SHARP committee and tasked DiSclafani with identifying any outstanding loans SHARP had issued using town funds and arranging for them to be repaid to the town. Although charged with arranging satisfaction of Town loans, from the time he applied for the loan in May of 2024 to when he was voted out of office in December of 2025, DiSclafani allegedly did not disclose this loan to any board member and made no loan payments until the $50,000 payment from the town to the SHARP committee was discovered by DiNapoli’s auditors during a town audit.

DiSclafani was arraigned in Ulster County Court before Judge Bryan Rounds. He is due back in court on Jan. 7.

The charges filed in this case are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has committed to fighting public corruption and encourages the public to help fight fraud and abuse. New Yorkers can report allegations of fraud involving taxpayer money by calling the toll-free Fraud Hotline at 1-888-672-4555, by emailing a complaint to [email protected] or by mailing a complaint to: Office of the State Comptroller, Division of Investigations, 8th Floor, 110 State St., Albany, NY 12236.

Release text attributed to New York Office of the State Comptroller. Consult the official publication for any subsequent corrections or updates.