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After more than three years of investigation into the finances of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, prosecutors secured a single guilty plea from the union’s former president, Thomas Mungeer. This outcome closes the case, but leaves unresolved questions about how financial misconduct went undetected for years inside one of the state’s most powerful law-enforcement unions.
On Jan. 6, Mungeer pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny for stealing union funds for personal use. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the conviction is likely temporary. If Mungeer complies with probation requirements, the felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor later this year.
Mungeer was charged with stealing union funds between 2018 and 2022, during his tenure as president of the union representing state troopers. He first became president in 2009 and resigned in October 2022 after public allegations of financial misconduct emerged. A state trooper since 1993, Mungeer had been one of the most powerful figures in the union for more than a decade.
The State Police Special Investigations Unit began investigating Mungeer more than three years ago but failed to substantiate initial allegations of money laundering, fraud, and lavish personal spending. Prosecutors have kept key details of the case under wraps, including how much money Mungeer misused and how it was spent.
As part of the plea agreement, Mungeer was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the union and forfeit his police retirement benefits. If those conditions are met, he will be permitted to withdraw his felony plea and instead plead guilty to petit larceny in April.
Members of the NYSTPBA expressed frustration that the case resulted in a single charge against Mungeer, with no other union officials implicated. Despite allegations of misconduct for years, prosecutors have not brought charges against anyone else.
Current leadership of the union sharply criticized Mungeer's opportunity for a reduced sentence.
“Tom Mungeer stole from the very people he swore to represent, violating his oath to uphold the law—the worst possible hypocrisy for a member of law enforcement,” union president Charles Murphy said in a statement.
“We are deeply disappointed that he will have an opportunity to plead guilty to a reduced charge and that his restitution neither will fully repay what he stole from our members, nor wipe away the reputational stain he left on our union.”
The union declined to provide additional comment.
Widespread mismanagement
Mungeer’s case unfolded amid broader allegations of financial mismanagement within the union. Concerns have surfaced in recent years about union funds being used to purchase alcohol at dinners and to host parties at the union’s Albany headquarters.
Federal prosecutors initially took on the investigation but dropped the case in 2024. In 2023, investigators seized documents from union offices as well as from the adjacent offices of the Signal 30 Benefit fund, a charity affiliated with the union that raises money for troopers facing illness, injury, or death. Mungeer was listed as a “principal officer” of Signal 30 on tax filings.
After federal prosecutors dropped the case, the Albany County District Attorney’s Office worked with State Police investigators to refine the evidence and resume prosecution.
While authorities have not alleged wrongdoing beyond Mungeer’s conduct, the narrow legal outcome has done little to dispel lingering concerns about institutional oversight after years of alleged misconduct inside the union.
Even before Mungeer’s resignation in 2022, internal concerns about the union’s finances had begun to circulate. Those concerns intensified after Murphy was elected treasurer in 2021 and initiated a series of internal financial probes.
Though the investigation ultimately produced only a single plea, Murphy has said he is focused on restoring confidence in the union.
“Our focus now is on continuing the work we started immediately after the ouster of our former leadership to ensure our union stands for fairness and transparency and works hard every day on behalf of all Troopers,” he said.
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