| Former Trooper Wynder in
LEEBA Fraud Trial Sees his 2019
Deposition on Income & 80 Broad
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 22 – Kenneth Wynder, a
former New York State Trooper
and former president of the
Law Enforcement Employees
Benevolent Association is
charged with defrauding union
members by misappropriating
money from LEEBA’s Annuity
Fund.
On February
23, 2021 U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge P. Kevin Castel
had a proceeding. Inner City
Press covered it.
Wynder is
out on bond, and earlier this
year was granted approval to
travel to visit a friend. Now
his case was pushed to
September 23, and time
excluded until then.
SDNY says "From
at least in or about 2012 up
to and including the date of
this Complaint, WYNDER
participated in a scheme to
steal, embezzle, and
misappropriate money from the
Annuity Fund and individual
members’ retirement
accounts.... Throughout the
duration of this scheme,
WYNDER repeatedly made and
approved false and misleading
statements to LEEBA’s members
and prospective members about
how he was purportedly using
and protecting their
retirement accounts and the
LEEBA Annuity Fund."
Jump cut to April
18, 2023, when Wynder and his
co-defendant and their three
lawyers were again before
Judge Castel. With a health
issue of counsel resolved, a
trial date was set in May.
On May 22, the
jury was selected and opening
arguments were held. Inner
City Press was there in the
gallery, as were a number of
AUSAs and others. Wynder's
lawyer, thankfully over health
problem though supported by a
cane, said his client had had
tax problems, and sloppy
record keeping - but had
fought for his members.
Andrew Brown's
lawyer, who called him Drew,
said his client had nothing to
do with Wynder's tax problem,
nor Dallas Cowboy tickets. One
of these things is not like
the others, he told the
jurors, quoting Sesame Street.
On May 23, a
witness recounted, with a
letter to Brown on the screen,
how the LEEBA account was
moved away from Oppenheimer.
Judge Castel had the
court reporter read back an
answer.
On May 24, Drew
Brown's lawyer, who in
openings quoted Sesame Street,
was cross examining a witness
about her email that it was
"excellent" to receive LEEBA's
money. Then accountant Russell
Furey was called to the stand
by the government.
On May 25, the US
pursuant to a stipulation with
the defendants read for the
jury portions of Wynder's
February 21, 2019 deposition
where he said LEEBA had
offices at 80 Broad Street and
in Briarcliff Manor and said
he made $180,000 a year from
LEEBA ($125,000 in 2017), and
on top of that his police
pension. Then other documents
were proffered... One of these
things, as they said, is not
like the others.
Earlier in the
case Judge Castel castigated
the US Attorney's office for
not complying with its
discovery obligation,
triggering a letter about
ameliorative measures that
remains, ironically, heavily
redacted.
The case is
US v. Wynder, Jr. et al.,
20-cr-470 (Castel)
***
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