cover 1999-2002 - SCI

Thomas L. Williams: Convicted Felon Falsified Documents to
Obtain Position as a Substitute Teacher
Investigators from this office arrested Thomas L. Williams (“Williams”), a 33-
year-old convicted felon, after an investigation substantiated that Williams had
impersonated a former New York City school teacher, named Thomas E. Williams
(“Thomas E.”), in order to illegally work for the BOE as a regular substitute teacher. In
total, Williams collected more than $100,000 in wages during
the 3½ years that he was employed as a public school teacher.
Williams was charged with Grand Larceny in the 2 nd Degree,
Forgery in the 2 nd Degree, Offering a False Instrument for Filing
in the 1 st Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the 1 st Degree,
Unauthorized Practice, Defrauding the Government—all
felonies—and with the misdemeanors of Bail Jumping and
Criminal Impersonation in the 2 nd Degree.
Williams stole the
identity of a former
NYC teacher and
illegally collected
more than
$100,000, while
hiding his own
criminal history.
Williams’s scheme came to light when Thomas E., a former teacher with the BOE
who relocated to Maryland in the summer of 1995, reported to this office that the Internal
Revenue Service had notified him that he owed back taxes on money earned from the
New York City public school system for a period of time after he had resigned.
Investigators subsequently discovered that Williams obtained the social security number
and employment history of Thomas E. and used this information to gain regular substitute
teaching positions at several public schools in New York City. While working in the
school system, Williams was able to hide his extensive criminal history which includes:
six arrests, two misdemeanor convictions and one felony conviction—the latter a
consequence of impersonating a registered nurse at Harlem Hospital.
Recommendations and Results
We recommended that Thomas L. Williams’s employment with the BOE be
terminated immediately and that this matter be considered should he ever reapply for any
position.
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