A former vice president and co-treasurer of the Sag Harbor P.T.A. was arrested Tuesday on charges that she stole more than $10,000 from P.T.A. bank accounts.
According to a late-afternoon press release from Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney, Hope Livingston, 50, used the P.T.A. debit card to buy items from Costco, Amazon, Target, Lululemon, and shops in Sag Harbor. Several times, Mr. Tierney said, she used the card to withdraw cash from the P.T.A. accounts.
She was charged with grand larceny in the third degree, a felony that carries a penalty of between two and seven years in prison.
Ms. Livingston was the P.T.A. co-treasurer from July 2021 to June 2022 and its vice president from July 2022 to June 2024, according to the D.A.'s office. She is also listed as a "general employee" of the Sag Harbor School District who, as of 2023, was making around $25,000 a year. It is unclear what her position was in the district.
When new leadership took over the P.T.A. in 2024, discrepancies were discovered in the record keeping that pointed to Ms. Livingston, authorities said.
Neither Jeff Nichols, the district's superintendent, nor Matthew Malone, the elementary school principal, responded immediately to requests for comment.
Ms. Livingston was surrendered to the district attorney's office Tuesday and was arraigned by Riverhead Town Justice Sean M. Walter in Riverhead Town Justice Court. She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court on March 17. She is represented by Suffolk County Legal Aid.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available