Jeri Mason, a former Cape Vincent town clerk who was convicted of stealing nearly $30,000 from the town, is getting no jail time.
 
Mason was sentenced in Jefferson County Court Friday to five years probation.

According to the state Attorney General's Office, Mason's probation and non-incarceration depended upon her paying back the full amount of the theft.

The judge informed Mason that he may be inclined to give her a sentence without jail time if Mason were to pay full restitution.

Mason has paid the town of Cape Vincent $29,872.

Last October, Mason pleaded guilty to defrauding the government and official misconduct.

"Ms. Mason abused the privilege of serving in public office and now must pay back the people she fleeced," said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a news release. "As a result of our public integrity investigation, she is being held accountable for the crime of using her position to steal money from taxpayers. My office will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute such cases to ensure there is one set of rules for everyone in this state."

Mason falsified monthly financial reports from April 2009 to September 2010.

She was appointed clerk by the town board in 2008 and subsequently elected to the post in 2009.

Mason resigned in 2010 after Schneiderman announced Mason was charged with stealing up to $50,000 from the town.

In a news release from Schneiderman's office, he said:

Today's action highlights one of the public integrity initiatives Attorney General Schneiderman launched last year. The effort includes a crackdown on public officials who use taxpayer funds for their own benefit, and is part of the Attorney General's sweeping efforts to root out waste, fraud and corruption at all levels of government. As part of that effort the Attorney General placed public integrity officers in all thirteen of his regional offices around the state.  Public integrity officers serve as local "watch dogs," and give citizens a place to go to report corruption without fear that local politics will influence the outcome.

See our original report