Two criminal cases against Otsego County Sheriff’s Office employees, Sgt. Kristopher A. Solovitch and former Lt. Thomas Fellrath, have been transferred to special prosecutors: the district attorneys for Madison and Herkimer counties, respectively.
An Otsego County grand jury indicted Solovitch early this month on one count of second-degree forgery and four counts of first-degree falsifying business records, all felonies.
Otsego County Acting District Attorney Christopher J. Di Donna previously said that Solovitch allegedly falsified evidence submission forms submitted to the state crime lab “concerning an investigation that the sheriff’s department was doing” related to Fellrath, who was the county jail administrator.
As of press time Friday, June 26, Solovitch remained listed as first sergeant on the sheriff’s office website.
Fellrath faces his own charges for allegedly possessing cocaine while on-duty in a sheriff’s office vehicle in Herkimer County when arrested by state police on May 29. Di Donna said the arrest was part of an ongoing investigation into alleged overtime fraud.
On Friday, Di Donna said the overtime fraud investigation remained ongoing and was being conducted by his office.
Di Donna said he contacted the offices of Madison County DA Robert A. Mascari and Herkimer County DA Jeffrey S. Carpenter to see if they would take the cases, and once they said they would, he filed requests with judges. He said his Tuesday special prosecutor appointment requests to judges have been approved.
Di Donna said he made the decision because he didn’t “want the public to think we’re not being objective” because of his office’s professional proximity to the sheriff’s office.
“We do a lot of work with the sheriff’s office,” he said, and he did not want people to perceive that the defendants were either receiving a “sweetheart deal” or being “railroaded” as a result.
“That’s the healthy thing for society and democracy,” Di Donna said of the appointments. “It may sound corny,” he added, but “I believe in the rule of law.”
Carpenter already had been responsible for Fellrath’s felony drug charge in Herkimer County. As special prosecutor, he will take on the felony defrauding the government and misdemeanor official misconduct charges.
The Herkimer County DA’s office did not return request for comment Friday. Madison County Chief Assistant DA John S. Rodgers said he would be available to comment next week.
At the request of Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. earlier this month, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a review of the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office.
PBA calls Solovitch charges “unfounded”
The Otsego County Deputy Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association and the United Federation of Police Officers issued a statement Thursday in “full support” of Solovitch. The special prosecutors had not been publicly reported at the time.
The groups called the charges “unfounded” and said the situation reflected “a troubling trend in which good officers are increasingly subjected to scrutiny and targeting despite acting in good faith and in accordance within the scope of their duties.”
The PBA represents sheriff’s deputies in the office. Its president, according to a May 29 statement endorsing Devlin’s re-election bid, is Sgt. Richard Kimmerer. UFPO is a national organization based in Washington, D.C.
Asked about the statement Friday, Di Donna said that he could not comment on the evidence in an ongoing investigation. He said that the arrest followed an indictment from a grand jury, which was able to see evidence in the case.
“It was not an arrest by our office,” he said.
The PBA released a statement May 31 that called Fellrath’s charges serious and stated that the alleged actions did not reflect the PBA’s professional standards or values.
As a part of the sheriff’s office correctional division, Fellrath was not a part of the PBA. The group said it would not comment further on the pending legal matter.
The UFPO and PBA statement posted Thursday to Facebook stated that based on their “understanding of the circumstances, we believe these allegations are unfounded and the facts will ultimately demonstrate First Sergeant Solovitch acted justly and within the scope of his lawful duties and responsibilities.”
The groups said they were “confident the truth will come to light” in a “fair and impartial” judicial process, and that they had faith Solovitch will “ultimately be vindicated.”
UFPO and the PBA criticized a “deeply concerning” public narrative following the arrests including “negative rhetoric” directed toward the sheriff’s office. They said criticisms were unfair, unjust and impacted the entire department, all based on “the actions and allegations surrounding one individual not referenced in this letter.”
The sheriff’s office has faced heightened criticism following the arrests, and the office’s Facebook page hid comments on a statement it posted from Devlin on the matter. Michael Stalter, a former sergeant in the office himself, won the Republican primary for sheriff Tuesday, June 23 against PBA endorsee Devlin.
In the statement, the UFPO and PBA said they proudly stand with Solovitch and “will continue to support our brothers and sisters in law enforcement and advocate for fairness, accountability, and due process for all.”