NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Mark Diodate came to work at City Hall in January of 2018.
However, his appointment to become the Secretary to the Niagara Falls City Council did not come without controversy.
Back then, Councilman Kenny Tompkins noticed irregularities in Diodate’s resume and brought it to the attention of fellow council members.
“He used to work for me in the private sector, and that wasn’t listed on his resume,” Tompkins recalled during a telephone interview on Thursday. “So I knew right away that resume was off … and once you get something like that, there should be a lot of red flags.”
Still, Tompkins was only member of the council to vote against Diodate's appointment.
Earlier this summer, after a little more than a year and a half of service, Diodate tendered his resignation.
“He found another job he was moving on to that he thought was better for his family," Tompkins said.
But on Wednesday, Diodate found himself before a judge in Niagara Falls City Court, where he was arraigned on a host of charges and released on his own recognizance.
On the night of Monday, August 12, police say a security camera detected Diodate back inside City Hall, where they further allege that he logged onto a city computer, adding additional hours to his payroll record in order to increase his final paycheck.
The charges include three felonies: first degree falsifying businesses records, computer trespass, and tampering with a computer, as well as one misdemeanor; and attempted petit larceny.
The misdemeanor count involves the $455 Diodate is accused of trying to inflate his final paycheck by, through his alleged attempt to add compensatory and holiday pay.
In the meantime, the job with the Niagara Falls City School District, which Diodate left the City Hall to take, is now off the table.
”I was considering putting him on the personnel report for this evening's meeting but have since taken him off the personnel report and will not be hiring him," confirmed Niagara Falls Superintendent of Schools Mark Laurrie.
Laurrie told WGRZ that the job Diodate was up for, which involved HVAC in the schools, paid more than $49,000 annually.
That’s about $12,000 more than Diodate was making as the City Council Secretary.
2 On Your Side contacted Diodate in an attempt to get his side of the story, but in a text message he referred all comment to his attorney Herbert Greenman.
However Greenman, when reached, politely declined comment on the case at this time.
Diodate, who plead not guilty to the charges before Niagara Falls City Court Judge John Faso, is due back in court on September 16 according to Niagara County District Attorney Caroline A. Wojtaszek.