February 13, 2023 at 12:31 p.m.
Newbold supervisor charged with election fraud makes court appearance
Newbold supervisor charged with election fraud makes court appearance
By Trevor Greene-
Staskiewicz, 69, has served as a town supervisor for roughly a decade, and according to a press release issued by Captain Terri Hook of Oneida County sheriff's office, the investigation involves his run for re-election this spring.
On Thursday he was formally charged with one count of misconduct in public office and one count of election fraud - falsifying or destroying nomination papers, recall petitions, etc.
Each of the Class I felony counts carries a maximum fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed three years and six months, or both.
District attorney Mike Schiek asked the court to set a signature bond.
"Your honor, obviously some very concerning behavior and allegations," Schiek told Branch II circuit judge Mike Bloom. "There was the report attached to the complaint ... but I'm not aware of any prior criminal history, your honor. From my understanding, the defendant is currently 69 years old, he has local ties to the community, and so for those reasons your honor I do think a signature bond is appropriate with no other non-monetary conditions."
Hearing that, Bloom set a $5,000 signature bond and advised the defendant as to his options for obtaining counsel.
According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the sheriff's office met with town clerk Kim Gauthier on Feb. 3.
Gauthier told the investigator she received an anonymous complaint on Jan. 31 reporting concerns that Staskiewicz forged signatures on his nomination papers, which were already filed with the town at that point.
After receiving the information, Gauthier reviewed the nomination papers and told the investigator it appeared the signatures were written in a similar handwriting.
She then notified town chairman Dave Kroll who referred the matter to the Oneida County district attorney's office.
"Gauthier stated Gauthier was now concerned there could be other documents in question with the same type of activity, as Staskiewicz had been on the Newbold Town Board for approximately 10-12 years," the complaint states. "Gauthier was able to retrieve another document from Gauthier's records, titled 'Declaration of Candidacy.' Staskiewicz signed that document. It appeared that in the same manner, names were signed by the same person."
The investigator assigned to the case noted 24 of the 31 names on Staskiewicz's candidacy papers for this spring's election appeared to be legitimate.
Each of the seven suspicious signatures were investigated further, and each of the persons contacted said they did not sign or give Staskiewicz's permission to sign their names in support of his candidacy.
Kroll, who is a retired law enforcement officer, told The Lakeland Times Staskiewicz has been a "dedicated servant of the town of Newbold for many years."
"The actions that he's accused of, those allegations can't negate the many years of the dedicated service he has given to the town," Kroll said. "So, I think we've all been around long enough to know sometimes good people make bad choices, and I know Jim to be a good man. I expect that we will see him acknowledge whatever mistakes he may have made and accept the consequences for those mistakes."
Ultimately, Kroll said he doesn't want "people to lose sight of the service that he's given to this community."
Staskiewicz is due back in court March 6 for an adjourned initial appearance.
Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].
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