The son of the former Assistant Superintendent convicted of stealing funds from Buffalo Public Schools has pleaded guilty to the same charge.The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that 36-year-old Hassan El Saddique of Amherst pleaded guilty to theft of governmental funds Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. El Saddique faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine when sentenced on October 26.
El Saddique is the son of Debbie Buckley, the former BPS Assistant Superintendent of Title I Federal and State Programs who was convicted of theft in June for signing off on fraudulent invoices submitted by her son for work he never performed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Resnick stated that between June 2009 and October 2010, El Saddique made it appear that he had entered into a contract for consultant services with the Buffalo Board of Education. The alleged contract falsely stated that El Saddique would perform services at the Universal School, but he never did.
Resnick said El Saddique did begin assisting with the Title I Program at Bishop Timon High School at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year on a volunteer basis. However, El Saddique later submitted 19 fraudulent invoices to the Buffalo Board of Education for $15,120 payment for services that were never performed or done voluntarily at Universal and Bishop Timon.
On June 1, El Saddique's mother, Debbie Buckley, was convicted of theft of government funds. Resnick said, as BPS Assistant Superintendent, Buckley eliminated the need for a signature on contractor pay so she could sign the fraudulent invoices submitted by her son.
