UTICA, N.Y. — Former Utica City School District (UCSD) Superintendent Bruce Karam pleaded guilty to one felony charge of public corruption in connection with using taxpayer funds to help support a political campaign relating to the 2021 Utica City School Board election and a non-school related fundraiser, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced. As part […]
UTICA, N.Y. — Former Utica City School District (UCSD) Superintendent Bruce Karam pleaded guilty to one felony charge of public corruption in connection with using taxpayer funds to help support a political campaign relating to the 2021 Utica City School Board election and a non-school related fundraiser, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced.
As part of the agreement, Karam will serve five years of probation, pay restitution of $12,000, and complete 250 hours of community service. He also agreed to a consent order to reduce his pension benefits.
He pleaded guilty in Oneida County Court before Judge Michael L. Dwyer and will be sentenced April 19.
“Karam took vital funds meant to support the education of students and instead used them to serve his own needs,” DiNapoli said in his announcement. “As a consequence of his actions, he is now a convicted felon and has been held accountable for his crimes.”
Karam and co-defendant Louis LaPolla, former Utica mayor and UCSD School Board president, were both arrested last November. An investigation by DiNapoli’s office, Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville, and the New York State Police determined Karam was using taxpayer money and school resources including labor, stamps, envelopes, and other supplies to send election mailers in support of a school-board candidate.
He was also accused of using school resources to send invitations for a non-school-related fundraiser for a charity run by LaPolla. School-district employees prepared the fliers for mailing during school hours, using envelopes and stamps paid for by the school district.
Karam served as UCSD superintendent from 2011 until he was put on leave in October 2022. The district fired him shortly after his arrest.
“It is imperative that local leaders understand the responsibility and trust that the public has in the work they do,” Carville said. “Those who chose to abuse that trust are not fit to serve and will be held accountable.”
LaPolla will next appear in court April 10.
“This case demonstrates the hard work of all our law-enforcement partners who are focused on the same goal - holding those who break our laws accountable,” New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven G. James said in the announcement. “Mr. Karam violated the public trust by stealing taxpayer money intended to provide a quality education for students at the Utica City School District.”