Tom Clasby, the former director of Quincy Elder Services who led the department for 25 years, appeared in court Wednesday.
The former director of elder services for Quincy, Massachusetts, embezzled thousands of dollars from the city through "personal indulgences" like 153 lbs. of steak tips and using city funds as a "personal slush fund," federal officials said Wednesday.
Tom Clasby's indictment on charges of embezzlement, mail and wire fraud and transporting stolen property across state lines sheds new light on his departure from Quincy's Elder Services Department last year. He was removed from his position in May, weeks after being placed on paid administrative leave, with Mayor Thomas Koch citing "Serious financial irregularities" that were being investigated, despite attempts "to fraudulently obfuscate" transactions.
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Clasby appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon, pleading not guilty. He gave no comment to NBC10 Boston after his release on personal recognizance.
"It's egregious," U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said. "We're not going to prosecute you for stealing pads, but when you're stealing taxpayer money for your personal gain, we're going to hold people accountable."
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In a statement Wednesday, Koch said he appreciated Quincy police and other local officials for investigating when the allegations were uncovered, and thanked the FBI and federal prosecutors for their investigation.
"While I remain deeply saddened personally by what transpired, the way this matter was handled by all involved -- from our staff, our outside auditors, and law enforcement – showed unequivocally that this kind of breach of the public’s trust will never be tolerated. The Kennedy Center is a special place for our seniors, and it will remain so," he said.
While Clasby served as the director of the department for 25 years, dating to 1999, the allegations against him date to 2019, when prosecutors say he started using buying personal expenses through the city, including $8,950 to book a music studio where he recorded himself singing, $2,236 that bought 153 lbs. of bourbon steak tips, $4,800 towards a Toyota Prius and $1,658 for a framed self-portrait.
He also allegedly won a consultant friend in New York a $38,000 contract, though it didn't pay for goods or services received by the city. Instead, prosecutors said, the city's checks were cashed, and that money handed back to Clasby at a Framingham rest-stop, a ferry terminal in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and at the friend's apartment in New York.
Additionally, Clasby stole most of the cash receipts the department generated starting in June 2021, prosecutors said.
Each charge against Clasby carries a sentence of at least a decade in prison, according to prosecutors.
"Thomas Clasby's alleged betrayal of trust is not just a theft from the City of Quincy but an affront to the seniors he was sworn to serve and the taxpayers who funded these programs," Levy said earlier in a statement. "As Director of Elder Services, Mr. Clasby was entrusted with protecting vulnerable members of his community. Instead, he allegedly used his position to fund personal indulgences, from bourbon steak tips to a custom-framed self-portrait, and even went so far as to collect cash handoffs at ferry terminals and rest stops. Let this indictment serve as a reminder: public officials who exploit their positions for personal gain will be found out and held accountable for their crimes."
"Stealing money from programs that are set up to help our seniors is utterly disgraceful," said Jodi Cohen, the top FBI agent in Boston, in the statement. "Today, the FBI arrested Thomas Clasby for allegedly padding his paycheck in a big way, using tens of thousands of dollars belonging to the city’s coffers as his own personal slush fund. In doing so, we believe he cheated the city of Quincy’s Department of Elder Services, the taxpayers who help fund it, and all the honest municipal workers who do the right thing, in the right way, every day. We’d like to thank the Quincy Police Department for its assistance in bringing Mr. Clasby to justice."
