Ex-football team owner bilked locals, police allege
A Lake Katrine man is facing felony charges — accused of using his former position as a part-owner of a local semi-pro football team to bilk two area residents out of thousands of dollars. Now, police and prosecutors are trying to determine if there are additional victims. Mark S. English was arrested by state police...
Local cops, schools self-evaluate after Sandy Hook shootings
Even as word of Friday’s grisly massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was making its way over airwaves and the Internet, police and school officials were moving into action across Ulster County in a coordinated response. From posting cops at dozens of schools to monitoring social networks for would be copy-cat killers...
KHS teacher faces drug charges after neighbor turns up dead
A Kingston High School teacher is facing felony charges after, officials say, he sold hallucinogenic mushrooms to a neighbor who was later found dead. Matthew T. DiDonna, 42, was arrested by state police at his home at 12 Wayside Drive in Hurley around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday. He is charged with felony counts of third-degree...
Final Clean Sweep defendant convicted
On Thursday, Nov. 29, an Ulster County jury convicted Chad Richards on all counts in an indictment alleging that he sold crack cocaine to undercover cops on two occasions back in November 2011. The 34-year-old Richards, officials said, was the last of some 80 alleged drug dealers indicted as part of Operation Clean Sweep —...
Tree theft brings community together
Police are looking for the thieves who wrecked and robbed a Christmas tree operation in the Town of Ulster which raises money for a local Boy Scout camp. But, Scout officials say the dastardly crime has failed to dampen their holiday spirit and, in fact, has generated an outpouring of goodwill from the community. “My...
Undocumented Kingstonians reluctant to report crimes
Carlos came to Kingston six months ago, illegally, from El Salvador. He has a job in manufacturing and lives on a gritty street in Midtown Kingston. He says he often goes out of his way to avoid groups of young men hanging out on the dark tree-shaded sidewalks late at night. There’s another group Carlos...
UPDATED: Ex-chief Taggard admits official misconduct
Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright has said, for the first time, that former Town of Ulster Police Chief Matthew Taggard was suspected of engaging in “criminal conduct” while working with a youth program affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America a decade ago. Those allegations prompted an investigation by the District Attorney’s Office which...
BREAKING: Taggard pleads guilty to misdemeanor; gets no jail
Editor’s note: We’ll be working on this further and will get something up as soon as we can, but for now here’s the text of the press release from Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright: “Last March disturbing allegations concerning the former Chief of Police of the Town of Ulster Police Department, Matthew Taggard, were brought...
KPD’s Facebook page feels the “Like”
The Kingston Police Department’s Facebook page started with a simple goal — to allow Chief Egidio Tinti to spend less time on the phone with reporters and more time tending to the day-to-day matters of running a busy, understaffed small city police department. “It really started out of necessity,” said Tinti. “I found myself having...
Editorial: My best Hugh Reynolds imitation
Hugh’s taking a few weeks off to soothe his fevered brow before things really start getting politically and budgetarily serious around here, so I will do my best to fill the void. It will be tough to match the master. Here we go! Hey, Mr. Sheriff and Mr. Comptroller, can’t we all just get along?...
‘Twelve pages of BS’
In the wake of the Kingston Police Department’s withdrawal from the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team, Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum accused County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach of meddling and needlessly prolonging discussions on the division of assets seized by the multi-agency task force. At a Sept. 19 meeting of the Ulster County Legislature, an infuriated...
Photos of Pike Plan planter vandalism
Hey, in case you are not hooked up with us on Facebook, here’s a link to an album of shots of the damage and cleanup attempt. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.505760292786679.138245.121554907873888&type=1 As of Friday afternoon, no arrests have been made.