More than a month since his criminal case was before Mamakating Judge Terence Mullen, it's unclear at press time if and when Town of Thompson council member Scott Mace will continue to face prosecution on two felonies and one misdemeanor charge stemming from his arrest by New York State Police in May.
Mace, the Republican candidate for Town of Thompson supervisor, was trailing Democrat incumbent Bill Rieber by 76 votes when unofficial election results came in on Election Day. Absentee ballots in the race, like a few others in the county, will determine the final outcome in coming weeks.
Mullen on October 5 recused himself from the case.
A clerk for Mullen told The SullivanTimes that it is up to the Sullivan County Court to decide where the case may land next. And a clerk for the County Court today confirmed that People vs Scott Mace is not currrently on the calendar for Farrell or Judge E. Danielle Jose-Decker.
The SullivanTimes also left voice mails this morning with Senior Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Lisa Bondarenka and Mace's defense attorney, John Ingrassia, to inquire about the status of the case.
Mace was charged with felony criminal possession of narcotics in the 4th degree, one other felony (falsifying business records) and a misdemeanor (petty larceny). Mace, who was first elected in 2011 and who has also served as deputy supervisor, is the former owner of the Rock Hill Pharmacy. It is alleged that Mace stole $20 worth of prescription medication from his former drugstore. A source told this media outlet that the drug stolen was oxycontin.
The Food and Drug Administration describes oxycontin as "a strong prescription pain medicine that contains an opioid (narcotic) that is used to manage pain severe enough to require daily around-the-clock, long-term treatment with an opioid, when other pain treatments such as non-opioid pain medicines or immediate-release opioid medicines do not treat your pain well enough or you cannot tolerate them."
Recently, Mace told WJFF that he does not have a "an addiction problem, but a pain problem."
In May, his arrest was confirmed by Troop F spokesperson Steven Nevel and the charges were confirmed by the Town of Thompson court, where the two judges there recused themselves. Nevel told The SullivanTimes at the time that no further information was available about the arrest.