36 year old Justin Baker of Sidney appeared in Delaware County Court Monday and pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Baker admitted that he had possessed methamphetamine with the intent to sell in the Village of Sidney. Judge Hubbard ordered the Delaware County Probation Department to conduct a pre-sentencing report, it is expected that Baker will be sentenced to 2 1/2 years in state prison to be followed by one year of post release supervision, he will likely be enrolled in the Lakeview Rehabilitation Program as part of his state prison sentence.

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Otsego County Sheriff’s Office arrested 53 year old Donald Lane of Portlandville for being in violation of the State Sex Offender Registry. Lane was charged with Sex Offender Failure to Update Change of Address, following an investigation that revealed that Lane relocated away from his residence in excess of the 10 day grace period required for sex offenders to update an address change. Lane was located by the Canajoharie Police Department and was turned over to the Otsego County Correctional Facility on an unrelated matter. On March 11th 2024, the defendant was formally charged with the above charges and issued an Appearance Ticket returnable to the Town of Middlefield Court at a later date.

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Our Krazy 8 Redemption LLC of South New Berlin will be helping with the “March Madness” fundraiser for the Delaware Valley Humane Society this Saturday in Sidney, Humane Society Director Erin Insinga comments:

(Erin Insinga 3-13-24)

Christina Dewey of Our Krazy 8 Redemption told WCDO News that they are happy to help out this & other shelters in the region:

(Christina Dewey 3-13-24)

The fundraiser will run through the end of March, more information is available on the Delaware Valley Humane Society or Krazy 8 Redemption center Facebook pages.

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Chenango County Health Department reported that a raccoon located in the Town of Preston tested positive for Rabies by the State’s Wadsworth Laboratory. Residents are reminded to not pick up or handle any stray or wild animal & to contact the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office or the Chenango County Health Department to report animals which are behaving strangely or aggressively. Report any animal bites and/or scratches to your health care provider or the Chenango County Health Department. More information about rabies is available by calling the Chenango County Health Department at (607) 337-1673

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested 28 year old Kenneth Dillman of Stamford for Aggravated Unlicensed Operator of a Motor Vehicle and Operation of a Motor Vehicle with an Ignition Interlock device following a traffic stop in the Town of Harpersfield. Deputies observed Dillmann operating a motor vehicle, they knew that Dillmann had 22 suspensions on his revoked license, A traffic stop was conducted, Dillmann was charged & was issued traffic tickets and Appearance Tickets for Town of Harpersfield Court at a later date.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 3-13-24

State Comptroller’s Office announced that 2 Otsego County area businessmen have been indicted for a $1 million Medicaid transportation fraud scheme. 46-year-old Philip Mtui and 47-year-old Mbaga Kaiza were partners in Phinaliz Communications, they allegedly sought and received payments for rides that did not actually happen and billed multiple times for rides that did occur. This resulted in $1 million being stolen from Medicaid, they were charged with 1st Degree Grand Larceny & they face court action on May 6.

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The Bainbridge Initiative has invited members of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office to Bainbridge, for a Question & Answer Sessions regarding topics such as substance abuse, Homelessness & Mental Health, spokesperson Carole Kanzer explains:

(Carole Kanzer 3-13-24)

The Session will begin at 5:30 PM, at the Bainbridge Town Hall, more information is available at the Bainbridge Intitative Facebook Page or at 967-5449.

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The Annual Organizational meeting of the Delaware County Cornell Cooperative Extension, will be held tonight at the Walton Central School at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be open to the public & is expected to focus on the future of 4H programs following multiple recent staff vacancies.

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The next American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held today in Cooperstown, from 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., at St. Mary’s at 31 Elm Street, appointments can be made at RedCrossBlood.org, the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office announced that 2 people survived a plane crash in Delaware County Saturday Night in the town of Franklin. The pilot was 72 year old Ron Galuppo of Texas, the passenger was his son, 22 year old Nathan Galuppo, of Texas. Delaware County 911 was alerted by Air Traffic Control in Boston Massachusetts about a mayday transmission from a plane experiencing engine failure, they also received a call about a small plane crashing near a residence in Franklin. Both men crashed while attempting to fly home to Texas from Maine, they were taken to Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton after they were able to escape the wreckage of their plane, they suffered only minor injuries, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Federal Aviation Administration with the investigation.

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State Police and Ithaca Police held a press conference today regarding the disappearance of 33 year old Thomas Rath of Ithaca on May 20. The investigation eventually evolved into kidnapping and murder, with the investigation covering 2 area counties & the State of Maine. State Police Troop C Captain Lucas Anthony of the BCI unit explains:

(Captain Lucas Anthony 8-28-23)

Captain Anthony said that Rath lived in a homeless camp known as the “Jungle” at the time of his disappearance, Rath was familiar with some of the kidnappers. The names of the 10 charged were not released, they were all from the Ithaca area, more arrests are expected & the investigation is ongoing.

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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office & The Oneonta Police Department announced the arrests of 3 people of Phinaliz Communications LLC, who are accused of operating a long-running scheme to steal over $1 million from the Medicaid program. The 3 defendants were identified as 46 year old Philip Mtui of Mechanicsville, who owns the company, operations manager Mbaga Kaiza, and Dispatcher & Driver Tony Taylor, who were arrested last Thursday. Over a 4-year period, Mtui and Kaiza defrauded the Medicaid program by claiming payment for rides that never occurred, and double, triple, or quadruple billing for rides that did occur. Mtui and Kaiza were arraigned in Oneonta City Court for 1st degree Grand Larceny, both were held on $250,000 bail. Taylor was arrested on 1 count of conspiracy, he will be arraigned on September 19th, more arrests are expected.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office announced that an Arrest Warrant issued by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office has resulted in the arrest of a Sidney man. Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a check the welfare on Interstate 88 in the Town of Sidney, for a man climbing on the bridge. Deputies subsequently located 43 year old Arthur Cotton of Sidney, who was wanted on an active arrest warrant out of Chenango County, for Sexual Misconduct. Cotton was arrested and turned over to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office.

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The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce announced a job fair will be held at the Southside Mall in Oneonta on Tuesday. The Job Fair will run from 2:00 to 4:00 PM & will feature numerous employees from throughout the region with job openings currently available.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested 42 year old Leslie McClenon of Walton for DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle & several other Traffic charges. On August 13th Deputies observed a car entering an intersection was nearly struck by another vehicle running a red light. Deputies conducted a traffic stop, McClenon had her driving privileges suspended and was operating the vehicle while intoxicated, she was released on appearance tickets and directed to appear at the Town of Walton court at a later date to answer for the charges.

Binghamton Police arrested Ismael Sanchez of Rockingham, North Carolina, who was wanted by Police in Richmond County, on an arrest warrant for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, robbery with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Sanchez was arrested after a search warrant was executed at a Wilson Street apartment by the Binghamton Metro SWAT team. He was taken to Binghamton Police Department where he was arraigned as a fugitive from justice and remanded to Broome County Jail pending extradition back to North Carolina.

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