By Jake Palmateer
Staff Writer
ONEONTA _ A former city mayoral candidate phoned in a fake report of a burglary-in-progress last November to avoid an arrest, according to city police.
Jason Corrigan, 21, of Clifton Park, was charged Tuesday with falsely reporting an incident, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
Corrigan, wanted on a warrant for forcible touching, harassment and aggravated harassment charges, saw officers approach the library at the State University College at Oneonta on Nov. 30 and, according to witnesses, slipped out the back, Sgt. Ralph Pajerski said.
Officers later attempted to track Corrigan down at his next class at Chase Physical Education Building, and it was then that Corrigan phoned 911 and made a false report of a break-in at his apartment so he could evade the officers, Pajerski said.
"There was no burglary," Pajerski said.
The SUNY Oneonta senior ran unsuccessfully for mayor in the Sept. 15 Democratic primary and the Nov. 3 general election. He surrendered to police Dec. 2 and was booked on the charges covered by the warrant.
Corrigan left a "nasty" message on former Mayor Kim Muller's voice mail in early November, according to police. That alleged action resulted in the aggravated harassment charge.
Corrigan also allegedly fondled a 20-year-old female SUNY Oneonta student between June 21 and Oct. 19, resulting in the harassment and forcible touching charges, police said.
Scheduled to appear Tuesday morning in Oneonta City Court for arraignment on those charges, Corrigan was sent downstairs to the police station to be booked on the new charge, Pajerski said.
The case against Corrigan was adjourned until April 6, according to court officials.
The original judge assigned to the case, Judge Lucy Bernier, recused herself in December and that led to an original adjournment. Muller had worked on Bernier's re-election campaign.
Judge Richard McVinney, appointed to the second spot on the city court bench in January by Mayor Dick Miller, recused himself from the case Tuesday after a motion from Corrigan's attorney, Joseph Ermeti, court officials said.
A judge from outside the area will be assigned to the case, they said.
Pajerski said the investigation, as well as the delays in city court, resulted in the latest charge being lodged against Corrigan three months after the alleged incident.
Corrigan did not comment on the case during a phone call he returned Tuesday night from The Daily Star but later sent an e-mail saying: "While I can not directly comment on my pending case, the charges against me are directly related to my bid for city mayor, and the information I uncovered relating to the city elite. Any intelligent person can see that the individuals I identified as being a part of the city elite, have and continue to work hard to defame my name and degrade my credibility as a former candidate, as a student, and as a person."
Dick Miller, an independent running on the Democratic line, took 50.2 percent of the vote during the mayoral election, while Erik Miller, a 35-year-old Republican and city alderman, won 41.6 percent. Corrigan took 8.2 percent on his independent party line. Dick Miller won the Democratic primary over Corrigan with 77 percent of the vote.
