Brockport fire lieutenant facing federal charges
A Brockport Fire Department lieutenant is accused of depositing almost $400,000 in federal checks — most of them suspected to be stolen — into personal and business accounts.
Federal officials this week arrested Steven Ray on mail fraud-related charges. He has appeared in federal court and is free on his own recognizance.
In the early months of 2013 Ray, a town of Sweden resident, deposited $399,212 in Treasury checks into a personal account and two business accounts, U.S. Postal Inspector Nichole Rodriguez alleges in an Aug. 19 affidavit. The business accounts are Steray of Rochester Inc. and C&C Deli, court papers say.
In all, 128 checks from the U.S. Department of Treasury — tax refunds and Social Security checks among them — were deposited into the accounts, Rodriguez alleges.
In one case, a postal carrier was robbed at gunpoint in Brooklyn on Feb. 1, 2013, and mail was stolen from the carrier's pushcart. Postal investigators determined that the stolen mail likely included two Social Security checks a woman on the route expected for her grandchildren.
Ten days later, those checks were deposited into the Steray account in Rochester, authorities allege.
Similarly, other federal checks on the same delivery route ended up in the Steray account, each endorsed by the expected recipient. In each case, those individuals did not receive the checks, authorities allege.
Other checks were originally mailed to individuals in southern states, authorities say.
Ray's attorney, William Dedes, declined comment.
The accusations have not affected Ray's position with the Fire Department, said Chief Don Marenus.
"Basically we take an innocent until proven guilty approach at this point," he said.
Ray is also facing misdemeanor harassment charges in the town of Sweden in a separate domestic incident. He was arrested on those charges in July.
GCRAIG@DemocratandChronicle.com