NORWICH– Less than four years ago, a Norwich restaurant owner and his manager were convicted of bilking thousands from their customers’ credit cards. Last week, another jury convicted one of them of forgery in Manhattan.
Former manager of Hand’s Inn Restaurant, Kevin Aguilar, 38, was convicted Jan. 29 of two counts of forgery and offering a false document for filing, all felonies.
Aguilar was attempting to retrieve his mother’s car from the New York City Department of Finance for outstanding parking tickets, explained Jennifer Kushner, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan Attorney’s Office.
A Chenango County jury convicted Aguilar on May 27, 2005 for unlawfully debiting over $2,900 from patrons’ accounts at Hand’s Inn between June and December 2003.
District Attorney Joseph A. McBride said following his conviction that Aguilar continued to say he was innocent of the charges.
Also sentenced in connection to the Norwich crimes was the former manager of the now-defunct restaurant, Jean Rabbitt, 39, who took a plea to felony forgery two weeks after Aguilar was found guilty. Rabbit admitted to the court that both she and Aguilar conspired together in the crimes.
Aguilar had to pay restitution, was sentenced to time already served and given five years probation, said McBride Thursday.
Kushner said the new charges began in January 2007 when Aguilar presented the Finance Department with documents claiming his mother was in the process of declaring bankruptcy. However, after reviewing the request, investigators discovered the case had been withdrawn. The office instead issued a conditional release for the car as long as payment was made. Aguilar took the notice and altered it so that it did not include any payment and submitted the forged document back to the office.
“The investigation further revealed that the defendant altered the original notice in a number of ways and forged the Department of Finance attorney’s initials on the fraudulent alterations, making it appear as if the car should be released without payment of any of the outstanding judgments and fees,” said a statement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
After Aguilar submitted the notice, the office released his mother’s vehicle. But, in the Spring of 2008, the car was again towed. Aguilar returned to the office and presented another altered petition (allegedly from the United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District Bank) to the exact same representative.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Investigations Bureau, who was already in the process of investigating the initial incident, was alerted to the new submission and retained copies of all the forged documents issued by Aguilar. He was arrested in Feb. 2008 and charged with three felonies.
Aguilar will be sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers Feb. 11 and faces up to seven years in state prison.