Alleged transfer of funds from companies linked to Charles Antonucci, former president of the now-shuttered Park Avenue Bank, back to him and then reinvested in the bank. (Click image for larger version.)

Marking the first ever prosecution of alleged fraud against the Trouble Asset Relief Program, Charles Antonucci, the former president of the Park Avenue Bank was arrested this morning and charged with embezzlement, bribery and allegedly trying to defraud the program of $11.2 million. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara warned that while this was the first ever TARP prosecution, his office had recently ramped up staffing and expected the probe to continue. Federal prosecutors allege that Antonucci approved loans and lines of credit to companies that he invested in, made false statements to federal regulators to apply for TARP funds and arranged for the bank to lease properties that he personally owned at 2 Broad Street and 48 Jackson Street in Fishkill, NY. “Antonucci allegedly put his personal greed ahead of his professional duty, deliberated and repeatedly deceived regulators and even attempted to obtain through fraud more than $11 million in taxpayer rescue funds through the Troubled Asset Relief program or TARP,” Bharara said. Antonucci’s attorney, Charles Stillman, said he just received a copy of the charges and would not immediately comment.
[more]

The former president of the Park Avenue Bank, Charles Antonucci,
has been arrested on charges of self-dealing, bank bribery,
embezzlement, and fraud on the New York State Banking Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
and the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The office of the United States attorney for the Southern District will be
announcing the charges at a press conference at 1 p.m. On Friday,
federal and state regulators shut down the Park Avenue Bank and
sold its deposits to Valley National Bank. TRD [more]

Donald Glascoff’s (left) Park Avenue Bank has been shut down with its deposits sold to Valley National Bank, headed by Gerald Lipkin (right)

Federal and state regulators have shut down the Park Avenue Bank and sold its deposits to Valley National Bank, marking the second seizure and asset sale of a New York City bank in two days. The State Banking Department closed the bank citing ineffective management and inadequate capital as well as a high volume of non-performing loans. “We determined that the management team’s inability to address the
problems in the consent order led to the bank being critically
undercapitalized,” said Richard Neiman, supervisor of the state Banking
Department. “This issue coupled with the high volume of non-performing
loans held by Park Avenue meant that the bank could no longer operate
in a safe and sound manner.” The FDIC entered into a loss-share transaction on $379.8 million of Park Avenue Bank’s assets. Park Avenue Bank reported assets of $520.1 million and deposits of $494.5 million, according to the FDIC. The bank’s four branches will reopen as branches of Valley National Bank. Last night, state regulators shut down and sold the assets of LibertyPointe Bank, the struggling lender owned by Brooklyn-based developer Shaya Boymelgreen. Asked whether the collapse of two small New York banks was a start of a new trend, FDIC officials acknowledged that commercial real estate lending is playing a larger role in bank failures. [more]