Commissioner Sanghvi, Where Are the Checks?

The scandal that will not die-the missing checks

Saratoga Springs Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and former Deputy Mayor Angela Rella submitted claims to the city for money to which they were not entitled as part of the On-call Pay scandal. They were instructed by the Saratoga County DA to return the funds, which they both did. For reasons still unknown, the city returned the two women’s checks uncashed. Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi has refused to answer questions about how the money came to be returned, and she has failed to recover the money owed the city. In addition, Commissioner Sanghvi has never acknowledged that it was her office that inappropriately gave final approval to these payments.

A Narrative Of Incompetence And Cronyism

As readers will recall on February 21, 2023, the previous Saratoga Springs City Council under Mayor Ron Kim awarded a new benefit to compensate eligible Deputy Commissioners and the Deputy Mayor for being on-call.  The poorly crafted resolution, for various reasons, led to an investigation by the New York State Police.  The investigation revealed, among other things, that Deputy Accounts Commissioner Stacy Connors and then Deputy Mayor Angela Rella had improperly submitted requests for payment for periods not covered by the resolution.

The On-Call benefit was to begin on February 21, 2023 (see resolution at the end of this post). Both Rella and Connors requested pay for time allegedly spent on-call beginning in January of 2023 (see their time sheets at the end of this post). Setting aside the issue of whether these two Deputies or any of the others who collected this pay were actually ever performing on-call duties, the Rella and Coonors’ requests for pay before the benefit even began were a clear violation.

 Then Mayor Ron Kim and Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran signed off on these requests from their Deputies and the city’s Finance Department authorized the payments. I estimate that the total amount involved is $1,604.48.

This was a breakdown in the administration and oversight of payroll within the Finance Department. Under the city’s charter, the Finance Department is responsible for scrutinizing all invoices and requests for payment as a check on the other city departments.  There was a failure to adequately scrutinize Rella’s and Connors’ timesheets to confirm that they were eligible for payment.

Restitution

According to an article in the May 13, 2025, Times Union, the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office advised Stacy Connors that if she did not give back to the city the money she was paid before the On-call benefit even began, she was liable to be charged with petty larceny.  It is reasonable to assume Angela Rella received a similar notice.

Checks for $752.10 each were sent to the city by each of the attorneys representing the two to make restitution. 

For reasons unknown, the Finance Department did not deposit these checks. 

Despite repeated email requests, Minita Sanghvi, the Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance, has refused to disclose why her office refused to deposit the checks.

As it appears that Commissioner Sanghvi’s department has refused to accept the checks and has not implemented an alternative method of securing restitution, these two women will have received city money not rightfully theirs, and the city will have lost funds it is entitled to.

The Bizarre and Elusive Checks

In the Times Union article referenced above, Finance Commissioner Sanghvi’s deputy, Heather Crocker, received at least one of the checks.

She is quoted in the Times Union as follows:

“I’m accountable to the New York state comptroller,” Crocker wrote in an email to the city attorney on March24. “If we have an issue with improper payroll, the Finance Department must correct that, and include documentation in our records to explain to the auditors what happened and how it was resolved — e.g. a memo explaining the check, explaining why there is only one person’s check, a council approved resolution to correct the language that created the problem, etc. I am unable to show that with the information received thus far.”

This is particularly strange because the check she refers to was from Stacy Connors.  Connors and Crocker work in city offices directly across the hall from each other.  The distance between their respective chairs is less than fifty feet, and Connor’s name is on the check.

Crocker’s claim of ignorance does not seem credible.  Her alleged failure to inform herself of the check’s purpose by, at a minimum, engaging her colleague, Connors, seems very odd.

Commissioner Sanghvi Refuses Request To Explain Mysterious Checks

On June 18, 2025, I emailed Commissioner Sanghvi:

“Can you explain why the checks sent by Stacey Connors and Angella Rella as a result of the on-call have not been cashed?”

On June 22, 2025, Commissioner Sanghvi responded:

“Kindly speak to our City Attorney regarding this matter.”

On June 26, 2025, I emailed Sanghvi:

“I assume you are familiar with the section of the city charter describing the duties of the Commissioner of Finance, but I thought it would be helpful here to refer you to it.

4F Keeper of City financial records.  The Commissioner of Finance shall maintain complete and accurate financial records in accordance with standards established by the Comptroller of the State of New York and Section 4.3 of this charter.

As you were (are?) custodian of the checks from Stacy Connors and Angela Rella for, I believe roughly, $700.00 each, you are the person responsible for the handling of these checks.

If you are unsure about the purpose of these checks, you can walk across the hall to the Accounts Department and ask Ms. Connors why she wrote the check.  Similarly, you can call Congressman Paul Tonko’s office, where Ms. Rella works, and ask her.

I must ask, why does the City Attorney know about why these checks have apparently not been deposited and you do not?  This makes no sense on its face so I am looking forward to hearing from you. I ask again, why have both these checks not been deposited?”

The response to this email from Commissioner Sanghvi was an automatic reply informing me that her position is part-time and it may be some time before she can respond.

When I received no reply from Commissioner Sanghvi, I emailed her again on July 18, 2025, as follows:

I am disappointed you did not reply to my last email regarding the improper payments and restitution of money the city paid Stacy Connors and Angela Rella.

As you know in our form of government, as the Commissioner of Finance, you have the fiduciary responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the city’s finances. 

The final version of the resolution authorizing on-call pay adopted on February 21, 2023, states clearly, “The terms of this resolution shall take place on becoming effective on February 21, 2023.”

Ms. Rella claimed the entire year which included January 2, 2023 to February 21, 2023.

That calculates as follows:

7 weeks X $125.35 = $877.45

2 days X $25.07 = $50.14

Therefore, Ms. Rella owes the city $927.59. 

Ms. Connors claimed the period from January 9, 2023, to February 10, 2023 and February 20 to February 21.

That calculates as follows:

5 weeks X125.35 = $626.75

2 days X $25.07 = $50.14

Therefore Ms. Connors owes $676.89.

So the Finance Department improperly paid these two people $1,604.48.

As Finance Commissioner it is your fiduciary responsibility to recover this money for the city.

This issue is months old and the city has so far failed to recover the money.  Do you plan to pursue the return of this money?

This time I did not even get the automatic response reminding me that Commissioner Sanghvi’s position is only part-time and it may be some time before she replies.  I got silence.

Futile FOIL Request

Pursuing another track , I FOILed the city, requesting copies of the checks from Conners and Rella, along with any other related documents, emails, or texts regarding the handling of the checks.  The response included a series of emails with all the text redacted.  The FOIL response only provided the faces of the checks.  There was one brief letter from the law firm representing Rella.  The letter and check images are below.  The full response to my FOIL is attached as a PDF.

The following are the only unredacted documents from the FOIL that I received.  It is worth noting that by now, the checks are over ninety days old, making them invalid.

Final Summary

Basically, the fact that the Finance Department:

• improperly paid employees benefits for which they were not eligible
• received checks that apparently were meant as restitution which they have chosen not to deposit
• has failed to recover the money improperly paid to the employees

has been systematically hidden from the public.  FOIL requests for documents produced little of value.  Repeated requests of Commissioner Sanghvi for an explanation are not answered.

Without the assistance of a state agency to clarify what happened to the restitution checks and to advise the city how best to address the issues, the employees will be able to keep the city money to which they were not entitled and the city is deprived of money that should have been returned.

If Commissioner Sanghvi does not know how to fulfill her fiduciary responsibilities to the city she needs to reach out to the Comptroller for guidance.

Supporting Documents

The Resolution

The First Page of the Resolution

The image below is from the adopted resolution.  I have highlighted the key date in red. It establishes that the deputies were only eligible for on-call after February 21, 2024.

The Time Sheets

This is the sheet for Deputy Mayor Angela Rella for the first quarter of 2023.  It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.

This is the sheet for Accounts Deputy Stacy Connors for the first quarter of 2023.  It documents that she requested money from the city for a period not covered by the resolution.