FOOD PANTRY THEFT RESOLVED

Bourbon-Parme

‘Convicted Felon

For Rest Of Life’

By JAMES CUMMINGS • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – “From this day forward, you are a convicted felon and will be for the rest of your life.”

That was what county Judge Brian D. Burns told Antoine Bourbon-Parme, 59, as he was sentenced to a three-year conditional discharge on a charge of grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class U felony, for embezzling more than $18,000 from the Cooperstown Food Pantry.  He was arrested last April 2.

“You took advantage of the organization’s trust and the public’s trust of that organization. Beyond that, you stole from some of the most needy and vulnerable members of our community,” said Burns.

“Literally stealing the money that would go to run a food pantry. It’s difficult to put into words your selfishness,” the judge said. ““We don’t know how far the ripples of your dishonesty will go in time.”

And Burns emphasized that the sentence did not necessarily match the deed.

“Some of the members of the community will see your sentence as an injustice,” he said. “In many ways you’re still benefitting from the generosity of spirit that causes individuals to volunteer their time and resources to the food pantry. But even the most generous of spirits run out of patience. I suggest to you that you take advantage of this gift from them.”

District Attorney John Muehl said that if the Cooperstown Food Pantry had pressed for prison time, that might have played a role in the sentencing.

“They didn’t want him to go to prison. If they had, it may not have affected my decision, but I would have taken that into consideration,” the prosecutor said.

Given Parme’s prior record and his paying back the $18,000, there was some leniency, however.

“Because he paid the restitution and he’s never been in trouble before, he didn’t go to prison,” said Muehl. But if he breaks a law in the next three years, he could be facing time behind bars.

“He could be prosecuted for the new crime and could go to prison for up to four years. It’s up to the Department of Criminal Justice,” the D.A. said.

“I was disappointed that he didn’t apologize to the food bank, but otherwise I was pleased with the outcome,” said Muehl. “In the end, the food bank didn’t suffer financially. I hope that people who donate to them aren’t discouraged from this. They have a solid history of safeguarding the donations and this is just an isolated incident.”

Father Dane E. Boston, Christ Episcopal Church rector and a member of the food pantry’s advisory board, told Judge Burns the organization has learned its lesson from its experience with Bourbon-Parme.

“We want to reassure the community that in addition to our continued diligence, steps have been taken to confirm the security of all our contributions,” he said during this morning’s proceedings. “The mission and the goal of the Cooperstown Food Pantry to feed those in need in our community has not been diminished.”

Boston, who has lived in Cooperstown since 2016, said he hopes this experience hasn’t dampened local trust of the organization.

“It’s been important for the food pantry to see that justice has been served. To see that the community is protected and that the defendant won’t be able to do this again,” he said.

“We have strived to be open and the effect is that the food pantry takes this very seriously and we will continue to strengthen our policies and practices. We will always try to make things right.”