Monticello, NY - Pursuant to County Law §700, the duly-elected District Attorney is responsible for prosecuting all crimes and offenses cognizable by the courts of the County for which he/she was elected. This includes crimes ranging from jaywalking to murder and offenses ranging from vehicle and traffic infractions to town and village ordinances.
Historically, this Office has delegated its prosecutorial authority over minor traffic infractions, minor Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) infractions, and town and village ordinances to the local municipalities in an effort to preserve the resources of this Office and to focus on prosecuting major crimes.
However, over the past several months numerous allegations were brought to my Office that question the integrity of the individuals charged with running the Village of Monticello. For example, it has come to my attention that the Village of Monticello is seeking to establish a constabulary. Constables are entrusted with certain expansive powers within New York State, similar to police powers, including but not limited to making warrantless arrests, using deadly force when making an arrest, the power to carry out warrantless searches when legally permissible, the power to issue appearance tickets, the power to possess and take custody of firearms, and the power to issue traffic summonses. On July 31, 2025, I met with representatives of the Village who informed me that the Village obtained authorization from the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to establish this constabulary. Yet, after subsequently speaking with representatives from DCJS I was informed that the Village of Monticello had not been added as an organization to the Central State Registry of Police Officers and Peace Officers. Despite not having been added to the Central State Registry, I learned that the Village had already employed an individual who had begun working for the Village as a uniformed Constable. That individual is currently being prosecuted by my Office. That same individual resigned from the Village of Monticello Police Department in lieu of disciplinary charges and was recently found to be deceitful and an unsuitable police candidate after the Village of Monticello conducted a subsequent police background investigation for his potential re-employment. Notwithstanding the serious legal and ethical consideration mentioned above, questions have also been raised to my office as to the Village’s integrity while prosecuting village ordinances.
As a proud Monticello native myself, the allegations I received are extremely alarming. Collectively, these issues made me question how the Village wielded my delegation of authority to prosecute offenses in the Village of Monticello Justice Court, and I cannot permit my authority to be wielded under such questions from the public.
As such, on July 31, 2025, I rescinded my delegation of authority to the Village of Monticello to prosecute minor traffic infractions, DEC infractions, and village ordinances in an effort to restore transparency, fairness, and justice to the public. Simply put, this action was a rightful re-claiming of my authority, not a “takeover” as referred to by certain individuals and media outlets.
Now, and going forward, my Office is responsible for prosecuting all such offenses. In this vein, I have assigned an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) to handle all such matters under my direct supervision. This ADA and myself have continuously communicated and worked with the code enforcement officers employed by the Village since the day I rescinded my delegation of authority.
As a knee-jerk reaction, the Village authorities chose to go to the media to air their grievances rather than communicate with me or my Office directly. The Village Attorney, Michael Sussman, is quoted in an article released by the media outlet saying, in sum and substance, that there will be no consequences for violating village ordinances under my leadership. This is a bold and fallacious claim. To claim that the chief prosecutor for the County – charged with investigating and prosecuting murders and predatory sexual assaults of children – is not capable of prosecuting a village ordinance is nothing short of ridiculous. This claim is further perplexing coming from an individual who has been publicly disciplined and suspended by the Attorney Grievance Committee for commingling his client’s funds within his operating budget. Without reclaiming my authority, Mr. Sussman, who was previously disciplined by the Attorney Grievance Committee would be responsible for prosecuting these offenses. These assertions only reinforce my decision that it is in the public interest to rescind my delegation of authority to the Village of Monticello.
The article goes on to state that I did not respond to a request for comment on these issues. This claim is also patently false. Neither the media outlet that released this article nor any member of it ever contacted me for comment or to inform me that they were releasing such an article. This is nothing short of poor journalism.
In an effort of transparency, I have attached my letter, dated April 24, 2024, continuing this Office’s delegation of authority under my leadership. I have also attached my letter, dated July 31, 2025, rescinding such delegation to the Village of Monticello.
Since the day I was sworn in as the Acting District Attorney of Sullivan County, I pledged that I would seek the ends of Justice no matter where they lead. I have kept that pledge and I look forward to continuing to do so.
Brian Conaty
Sullivan County District Attorney
