Parks Worker Stole $30K In Forest Park Mansion Rental Fees: DOI

FOREST PARK, QUEENS — A parks department employee was arrested Thursday on charges that she embezzled more than $30,000 in payments meant for the nonprofit that owns Forest Park.

Brooklyn resident Nicole Gamory stands accused of embezzling $30,911 that people had paid to the non-profit Forest Park Trust to rent out the park's Oak Ridge mansion for weddings and parties, prosecutors said.

Gamory, who handled the Oak Ridge rental contracts on behalf of the Forest Park Trust, steered 54 payments into her own bank accounts from 2014 to 2018, according to the charges.

A ledger book tracking the payments went missing while Gamory worked there, and photocopied records showed multiple payments weren't recorded, the investigation found.

In one instance, the photocopied records indicated that a $800 security deposit to rent Oak Ridge for a Sweet Sixteen party was returned when it was actually deposited into Gamory's bank account, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Gamory also altered the payee line on money orders to list her name rather than the Forest Park Trust.

Gamory has worked for the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation since 2005. She was suspended immediately after her arrest on charges of grand larceny, forgery, falsifying business records and official misconduct.

The Queens County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.