Town of Thompson Council Member, Candidate For Supervisor, Continues Five Months of Silence To Public About Arrest and His Race
MAMAKATING - Town of Mamakating Judge Terrence Mullen this morning recused himself from presiding over the case of People vs Scott Mace in connection with the Town of Thompson council member's arrest in May and sent the matter back to County Court.
There, it will be up to County Court Judge Jim Farrell or County Court Judge E. Danielle Jose-Decker to put the case on one of their calendars.
Mace was arraigned in early May at Town of Thompson court but Justices Sharon Jankiewicz
and Martin Miller had to recuse themselves. The matter was then sent to County Court Judge Jim Farrell, who, in turn, sent the case to the Town of Mamakating court.
Town courts are limited to handling misdemeanors but Mace was charged by the District Attorney's Office with two felonies: criminal possession of narcotics in the 4th degree
and falsifying business records in the 1st degree. A third charge against Mace was petty larceny, a misdemeanor.
It's unclear at press time why Farrell, the former District Attorney, would send the case back to a town court when there was two pending felony charges.
Mace, a Republican, is still on the November ballot in the Town of Thompson race for supervisor, challenging Democrat incumbent Bill Rieber.
Scott Mace, at left, and Bill Rieber earlier this evening at Thompson Town Hall meeting. (Screenshot from Zoom meeting via Town of Thompson)
Soon after The SullivanTimes reported exclusively on his May 10 arrest, the former Rock Hill pharmacy owner took down his election campaign page on Facebook.
And, during a 90-minute public hearing/town board meeting tonight at Thompson Town Hall, Mace made no mention of his legal problems. That's been the recurring pattern since his arrest nearly five months ago as he has participated in many town board meetings since May.
In addition, none of the leaders from the Sullivan County Republican Committee have publicly called for Mace to withdraw his candidacy. The SullivanTimes late tonight sent a message to the Committee asking for comment about Mace's candidacy while criminal charges are pending. An email was also sent to John Ingrassia, Mace's criminal defense attorney (based in Newburgh), asking for comment about the case being sent back to County Court.
It's also unclear at press time if the case could be adjudicated at County Court before Election Day (November 2).
Note: This story was updated at 12:44 pm on Wednesday . A previous version of the story stated that Mace was charged with one felony but it was actually two. The SullivanTimes regrets that error.
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