A Camillus attorney and business owner have been charged with fraud in connection to items presented at court in the town of Brutus.
State Police have charged Dana Grillo, 57, of Camillus, an attorney, and Alex Bakal, of Syracuse, the owner of A&R Auto Sales on West Genesee Street in Camillus, with three counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.
Police say Grillo and Bakal were charged after an investigation into traffic tickets returned to the town of Brutus court in Cayuga County.
An individual was ticketed for three “correctable offenses,” such as improper headlights or a bad muffler, and requested Grillo’s representation in court.
“The attorney took it upon herself to approach this auto mechanic to fudge the documents and say the items were corrected in the time frame,” said New York State Police Sgt. Martin Zubrzycki.
When the paperwork was presented to Brutus court, the town justice approached state police about the alleged fake paperwork.
Police are investigating to see if other cases of this behavior are possible, but right now, these are the only charges against Grillo and Bakal, Zubrzycki said.
Grillo is expected to return to court Jan. 10. Bakal’s case is pending in Brutus court.
