Former Head Football Coach Stole $5K+ From School District: DA

CENTER MORICHES, NY — A Center Moriches man and former Sachem North High School physical education teacher and head football coach was convicted Monday of filing false claim forms and stealing funds from the school district, Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini said.

David Falco, 52, was convicted by a jury Monday of public corruption, a felony; third degree grand larceny, a felony; third degree corrupting the government, a felony; first degree falsifying business records, a felony; first degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony; and official misconduct, a misdemeanor, Sini said.

“Any abuse of power by a public employee is unacceptable, but it is particularly disheartening when that person is a teacher and coach — someone who should be acting as a role model for his students,” Sini said. “Our public integrity bureau did an excellent job investigating and prosecuting this individual, resulting in today’s swift conviction by a jury of his peers.”

Between Dec. 8, 2017, and June 15, 2018, Falco filed eight teacher claim forms with the Sachem Central School District to receive compensation for supervising Sachem North High School’s weight room, Sini said.

An investigation by the DA's office revealed that Falco was claiming money for the work that his assistant coaches performed; as a result of the false teacher claim forms he filed, Falco received $5,755.68 from the school district, Sini said.

The investigation also revealed that Falco told the assistant coaches who were actually supervising the weight room that compensation was not available to them for their work, Sini said.

Jury selection in the trial began on Sept. 9 and the jury deliberated for approximately one hour Monday before returning a verdict of guilty, Sini said.

Falco is scheduled to be sentenced by Suffolk County Court Judge Timothy Mazzei on Nov. 12; he faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison, Sini said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Laura de Oliveira and Kevin Ward of the Public Integrity Bureau.