A donor to Rye’s Democratic City Council slate was convicted on federal fraud charges for stealing confidential documents from a New York City company and continues to face legal troubles.
New Rochelle resident Rob Rubicco contributed $1,000 to the Democrats’ ticket — the maximum allowed — on Sept. 16, weeks after he settled a 2022 civil judgment for roughly $166,000 over a breach of contract.
Rubicco, 42, told The Record that he doesn’t have any ties to the Rye candidates, but he’s interested in doing business in the city, including possibly opening a daycare center at 21 Nursery Lane, which overlooks Gagliardo Park.
He said he liked that mayoral candidate Josh Nathan hoped to revitalize the neglected Rye park, but added that he has never spoken to Nathan. He declined to comment on his criminal history.
Rubicco was charged and convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for accessing the computer of a Manhattan-based company without authorization in 2011 and obtaining a computer file with confidential and sensitive company information, according to prosecutors. Court filings did not include the name of the company.
Rye City Democrats Chairwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein said she was not aware of Rubicco’s criminal or civil litigation history.
“People donate to their friends and associates, you see people anywhere in the country reach out to their personal contacts or someone they know, and so you’re not always aware of someone’s business ventures or their personal life,” Tagger-Epstein said. “I really can’t speak to a guy from New Rochelle who donated to a slate. We’ve had outside donors donate to our committee, I’m not personally looking through their lives.”
Rubicco pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, was sentenced to four months of home confinement, and ordered to pay $10,240 in restitution, court records show.
Authorities said Rubicco violated his probation in 2013 — court filings mention that he had a history of substance abuse — when he tried to influence his mandatory drug test results, according to court documents. He was ordered to serve a 21-day jail sentence, followed by one year of supervised release.
The court case dragged on for several years before it was concluded in 2017 after Rubicco made financial restitution.
Since his run-in with the law, Rubicco or his companies have been named in at least 10 civil lawsuits for unpaid loans, contractual disputes, and debt collection. Public records show judgments and liens totaling well over $1 million against him, with several cases still pending in Westchester, Nassau, and New York City courts.
Rubicco currently serves as the co-owner — along with his wife, Christina — and chief business officer at Anna and Jack’s Treehouse, a preschool with three locations in Westchester that launched in 2013.
Rubicco said he has donated to and sponsored events for various police and fire departments in communities outside of New Rochelle, though he did not specify which ones.
On his website, Rubicco states that his work stands as a “testament to how values-led leadership can drive meaningful outcomes.”
He also is the vice president of Pelham’s Chamber of Commerce and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Treehouse Capital Partners, which provides financial services to help families afford childcare.
