Former state employee charged with taking kickbacks, defrauding New York FacebookTwitterEmail A former employee of the office of Comptroller Tom DiNapoli was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Pictured: Here he is interviewed on Tuesday, Jan 9, 2018, at Hearst Media Center in Colonie, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/ Times Union)SKIP DICKSTEINShow MoreShow Less ALBANY — A former employee in the state comptroller's office faces federal criminal charges for allegedly conspiring to steer state business to a company that paid him kickbacks, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Authorities said Srinivas Kancha, 52, of Selkirk, worked for the state comptroller's office from 2015 to 2017, and is accused of taking the kickbacks after steering lucrative contract work to a computer programming company. Kancha is alleged to have helped the programming company falsify its experience and gave them an inside track through the interview process.