MILFORD - The Milford village board has decided to sell the former Corner Store building on Main Street.

In a meeting earlier this month, the board voted to declare the building surplus property and solicit bids for its sale.

The village was given the building by its former owners after it was damaged in a fire.

The building is embroiled in the controversy surrounding Michael and Debra LaDuke, the former village clerk and current mayor who were charged earlier this year with third degree grand larceny and falsification of business records. The couple is currently under investigation by Otsego County District Attorney Jack Gibbons.

Their case was expected to go to the grand jury this month.

Village officials said previously that Michael LaDuke's involvement in the renovation of the Corner Store property is still being investigated.

LaDuke told the trustees that a new roof had to be put on the building and obtained a $75,000 loan for the project and arranged for the work to be done by Lincoln Construction of Oneonta without the normal bid process because it was an emergency.

The village paid Lincoln $67,5000 for work done on the building, but now believe, based on the opinions of someone who looked at the work, that only about $40,000 worth of work was completed.

"We were lead to believe that work that was going to be done was more than what was done," village trustee Lori Henry said.

Village attorney Richard McVinney and the trustees now suspect LaDuke was working for Lincoln at the time or that he worked out an arrangement with the construction company.

It may be impossible to discover if there was fraud "if they keep their mouths shut," he said.

New village clerk Margo Russ said Tuesday morning that there was no minimum bid set by the trustees and that the village had costs associated with the building beyond the $67,500 paid for repairs.

Russ also said that during the summer there had been two or three inquiries about the building. Advertisements have just strarted running and no bids have been received to date.

Bids must be received no later than Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. in the village hall.The board meets the first Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m. in the fire department meeting room.