Putnam County Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr. reports the arrest of 46 year-old Eugene A. Vitello, of the Bronx, on several counts of Aggravated Harassment and Stalking.
During the month of November, 2018, Putnam County Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr. received a letter via US Mail in which the writer threatened to harm him and commit criminal offenses against his family members. This was the second letter of this nature in which Sheriff Langley and his family had received within the past year. An investigation was immediately commenced to try and determine the origin of the letter.
A few weeks after Sheriff Langley received the second letter, The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Cold Spring Police Department regarding a similar type incident. Multiple letters had been received by the Cold Spring Court which contained concerning and threatening language, including death threats, to the Honorable Joseph Costello, Cold Spring Village Judge and Cold Spring Police Officer Edward Boulanger.
Since the letters received by the Cold Spring Court and the letters received by Sheriff Langley were similar in critical areas a joint Investigation between the Sheriff’s Department and the Cold Spring Police Department was commenced.
It was discovered that Eugene Vitello of the Bronx, New York, had been arrested by Officer Edward Boulanger in 2013 for Stalking and Harassing a Cold Spring business owner and that Sheriff Langley, who was a retired Law Enforcement officer at the time, had been a witness in that matter which had been adjudicated in front of Judge Costello.
On or about January 10, 2019, Investigator Paul P. Piazza Jr. and Chief Larry Burke traveled to Bronx, NY and interviewed Eugene Vitello who was subsequently taken into custody without incident and transported back to Putnam County for processing.
Mr. Vitello was arraigned in front of Judge Tim Curtiss, Town of Kent, for the Cold Spring Court. Mr. Vitello was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to return to the Village of Cold Spring Court on February 13, 2019.
Orders of Protections were issued for all affected parties and their family members.