Upstate restaurateur who stole from Albany mayor’s campaign joins Hochul at fundraising event

ALBANY — An upstate restaurateur who swindled the mayor of Albany out of thousands of dollars in campaign cash was spotted schmoozing with Gov. Hochul at a recent fundraiser.

Photos from an Aug. 6 event show a smiling Hochul standing next to Scott Solomon, a former Saratoga Springs restaurant owner who pleaded guilty last year to stealing roughly $40,000 from Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s campaign.

Scott Solomon (left) and New York Gov. Hochul (right) at a fundraising event for the governor's campaign in August 2022.

Solomon, sentenced to probation, was also hit with several felony charges last year for allegedly forging insurance and liquor license documents related to famed Saratoga restaurant Siro’s.

Social media posts show Hochul met and took photos with several supporters at the event, hosted by Tracey Brooks, an Albany lawyer and former president and CEO of Planned Parenthood and Family Planning Advocates of New York State.

A person familiar with the situation said Solomon was not on the official guest list for the fundraiser and is not a Hochul donor. Campaign records preceding the event do not show any contributions from him to the Democratic governor’s campaign.

A campaign spokesperson declined to weigh in on the photo and Solomon did not return a call for comment.

Political insiders still questioned how the posed photo could have happened.

“The issue is not that he got his picture taken, it’s why was even at the event in the first place,” one Albany insider said.

In 2020, Solomon was accused of conning Sheehan and her campaign by opening PayPal accounts and a credit card in her name and using them for personal expenses, according to the Albany Times Union. The 36-year-old was brought on as a fundraising consultant for Sheehan’s 2017 reelection campaign.

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan speaks during Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement for the creation of a Joint Security Operations Center at MetroTech Commons. (Pacific Press/)

Last fall, Solomon, who in the past was involved with the Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and agreed to repay both Sheehan and her campaign for the misspent funds.

In addition to his campaign-related trouble, Solomon found himself in hot water for allegedly falsifying paperwork, including insurance documents and a state Liquor Authority license, for Siro’s in the middle of the pandemic.

Saratoga officials shut down the popular racetrack-adjacent restaurant in August 2020 after discovering the fraudulent documents were submitted to the city and the spot was reportedly hosting private events without a permit. Solomon turned himself in to police last May after being charged with offering a false instrument, possessing a forged instrument and two types of forgery, according to the Daily Gazette.

Solomon was previously arrested in 2020 on felony larceny charges for allegedly writing $54,000 in bad checks while running a different since-shuttered Saratoga restaurant.

Hochul, running for reelection against Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) in November, has been a prolific fundraiser since taking over as governor following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo last summer.

She has far outraised her Republican opponent and has $11.7 million left in her coffers following the June primary, according to financial filings from last month.

Zeldin reported just $1.6 million on hand.

Both candidates continue to host fundraisers with deep pocketed donors as the election approaches and Zeldin is enlisting the help of former president Donald Trump for an event in neighboring New Jersey next month.