With the arrest of their sitting town supervisor on Monday after a long and mysterious investigation, residents of the Greene County town of Windham may finally start getting some answers.
Windham town supervisor Stacy Post, 51, was arrested by New York State police on Monday, Jan. 12 on felony eavesdropping charges.
Police say Post, who is also the former town police chief, conducted illegal electronic surveillance in the Windham town office building while serving as the town supervisor. Post was elected in November of 2013.
Post faces three charges of felony eavesdropping, a class E felony, and one charge of possessing eavesdropping devices, a class A misdemeanor. Police say she placed an audio and video recording device in the Windham town office building to eavesdrop on employees and other visitors to the building.
Post's arrest is the first clear sign of an end to a long period of suspense and apprehension in Windham. In March of 2014, state police conducted an early-morning raid on town offices, seizing some computer equipment. In the months following the raid, state police have conducted a lengthy and mysterious criminal investigation centered on Post.
Since the March raid, law enforcement officials have released very little information about the investigation. The uncertainty has had a chilling effect on town government in Windham, the Windham Journal reported in October:
Even within the lingering quiet, numerous extremely tense moments have unfolded, sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes in plain sight.
Town business is being conducted but a line has been drawn in the sand between the supervisor and the four other board members.
Almost all discussions, except those limited to routine matters such as paying bills etc., are tinged with tension, and even the mundane can become heated.
The investigation was initiated by the Greene County District Attorney's Office, which later recused itself from the case. The case was handed over in April to the Columbia County District Attorney's Office -- only to have Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka also recuse himself, in December.
A special prosecutor has been appointed by a Greene County judge to head up the case: local attorney John Sandleitner, who is in private practice in the town of Hunter.
The Daily Mail reports that Post turned herself in to state police barracks in Cairo, and entered a "not guilty" plea through her attorney, Dennis Schlenker.
Post was arraigned in Athens town court and released on her own recognizance, to appear in court at a later date.
Police say the investigation is ongoing, and that further charges are pending.
