NEW YORK - Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau Tuesday announced the indictment and arrest of the founder and former chief executive officer of a defunct non-profit agency, The Valley, Inc., for stealing over a quarter of a million dollars from the organization and for not filing his personal income taxes. The non-profit agency, which provided services to tens of thousands of youths, was forced to close in 2006.

John Bess, 57, was indicted on charges of grand larceny, violation of tax law and offering a false instrument for filing. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between May 16, 2000 and May 31, 2008.

The investigation leading to the indictment and arrest revealed that BESS committed larceny using several schemes. First, he used The Valley’s debit card issued to him for business expenses, and then had The Valley reimburse him for the same debit card charges, thereby causing The Valley to pay the charges twice. BESS also took money that had been paid to The Valley by other not-for-profit agencies, falsely claiming to The Valley’s accountants that the checks were intended for him personally.

After the original checks were deposited into The Valley’s account, BESS had The Valley make checks for identical amounts payable to him. Finally, BESS took $208,691 that he was not entitled to from The Valley for unused vacation time, falsely claiming that he had worked seven days a week for 20 years without taking a day off. In total, BESS stole $270,875.55 from the organization. On the tax front, in five different years BESS failed to file a state return, and in 2008 he filed documents which failed to report the income he had stolen.