Corning town supervisor Jennifer Mullen faces three felony charges, including grand larceny.
Mullen is one of the Republican candidates vying for the party's nomination for the Steuben County Legislature seat for District 13 in the primary elections.
Mullen was arrested on June 3 and faces charges of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, falsifying business records in the first degree and grand larceny in the fourth degree—all are class E felonies.
According to the felony complaint documents, she is alleged to have provided false information to the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) to file for unemployment benefits during a period of time between February and April of this year, and allegedly received more than $1,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to receive.
The NYSDOL said in an email that it “does not comment on ongoing criminal proceedings.”
Mullen addressed a packed room during Tuesday’s Corning town board meeting. She said that she was unable to comment on the alleged charges against her and unable to take comments from the public. Members of the public did not ask Mullen or the board any questions regarding the charges. Additionally, Mullen was not asked about resigning from her position as town supervisor by the public.
When asked by WSKG, Mullen said she would not resign and will continue to run for county legislator for District 13, which represents the towns of Caton, Corning and Hornby.
In an email statement to WSKG, Mullen said it would be inappropriate to address the allegations while the case is pending:
“Because there is a serious criminal matter pending I am limited to what I can say. It would be wholly inappropriate to address the substance of the allegations. Direct questions may be addressed to my attorney Luke Fenchel and his firm.
That said, I want to be as clear as possible, as a person of integrity, I can assure you and the community that accepting accountability for mistakes, personal and professional, are consistent with my values.
The electorate may rest assured, that my understanding is that this is a purely personal matter, and because of that fact, my hope is that I will be afforded the same process that any citizen would, and that the election ought not be impacted as a result.”
Mullen will be back in Corning town court on June 23 at 1 p.m. for a felony preliminary hearing.
Early voting for the Republican Primary elections ends June 22. Primary Election Day is June 24.