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Former Broome County district attorney assistant pleads guilty to charges stemming from Cornwell scandal

Former Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell announcing candidacy in NY-22 in July 2019. (Gabe Altieri/WSKG)
Gabe Altieri
/
WSKG
Former Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell and his assistant, Michael Worhach, have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from scandals arising from their time in office.

James Worhach, an assistant to former Broome County District Attorney Stephen Cornwell, pleaded guilty to felony charges of grand larceny this week.

According to a statement from special prosecutors, Worhach pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the fourth degree, a felony. Worhach stole over $1,000 from the county through a scheme where he and Cornwell expensed unauthorized private parking in downtown Binghamton, while they were employed in the district attorney’s office from 2016 to 2019.

Worhach will be sentenced in March. He could face up to four years in prison.

Investigators working under current District Attorney Michael Korchak and auditors from Broome County presented evidence to a grand jury in 2021. A judge later ordered special prosecutors from Schuyler County to try the case, given the number of potential witnesses within the Broome County District Attorney’s Office.

Cornwell and Worhach both pleaded guilty to separate charges of grand larceny in December. Those charges were related to both men stealing documents related to their own DWI arrests years prior.

Vaughn Golden has been reporting across New York since 2016. Working as a freelancer while studying journalism and economics at Ithaca College, Vaughn has reported for a number of outlets including the Albany Times Union, New York Post, and NPR among others. Prior to coming to WSKG full-time, Vaughn was a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times. Vaughn now covers government and politics for WSKG.