A Hudson Valley man plead guilty to stealing over $1.1 million from a local fire department.

In New York Southern District of New York Court, Albert Melin, the former treasurer of the Patterson Fire Department (PFD), plead guilty to wire fraud and false subscription to tax returns.

According to court document, Melin, 46, of Patterson, was elected treasurer of the PFD in 2013. From 2013 until Oct. 2015, he embezzled PFD funds by writing checks to two businesses he owned.

Melin embezzled more than $1.1 million by writing more than 130 fraudulent checks, officials say. He used the money to make payments on his home mortgage loan and pay personal expenses, including the costs of family vacations.

“Former treasurer Albert Melin was so brash that he wrote $1.1 million in fire department checks to his chiropractic and another business to support his opulent lifestyle,” New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli stated. “Luckily, our $5.7 million investigation of nearby Mahopac Fire Department prompted the Patterson fire commissioners to examine their books and expose these thefts.”

Melin faces up to 23 years in prison when sentenced in February.

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