Former Watkins Glen cop who faced felony perjury charges pleads guilty to misdemeanor
A former Watkins Glen police officer who faced several felony perjury charges has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and will serve no jail time.
Brandon Matthews, who had been embroiled in a legal battle with the Village of Watkins Glen and Mayor Luke Leszyk for nearly two years, pleaded guilty in Schuyler County Court to a single charge of official misconduct.
In exchange for the plea, county Judge Scott Miller dismissed eight perjury charges against Matthews.
Matthews' legal battles began when the village placed him on paid administrative leave in August 2020 after asking New York State Police to conduct an investigation into unspecified charges.
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Since a Schuyler County grand jury declined to indict Matthews on any criminal charges, the case file was sealed and the details of the investigation weren't made public at that time.
However, prosecutors later revealed the case dealt with allegations Matthews and his wife Danielle had marijuana plants growing on their property in the Town of Dix.
Following his suspension, Matthews filed a lawsuit against Leszyk and the village, claiming his forced leave from the police department was retaliation after the mayor allegedly made sexual advances toward Danielle Matthews and was rejected.
That lawsuit was later dismissed, according to Matthews' attorney, Matthew Buzzetti, of Elmira.
In January of this year, Matthews was indicted on the felony perjury counts, which stemmed from the earlier investigation, along with one misdemeanor official misconduct charge.
Even though the original grand jury declined to indict Matthews, the new perjury charges accused Matthews of lying to investigators and to the grand jury during the course of that initial investigation.
The official misconduct charge alleged Matthews engaged in a pattern of sleeping on the job while employed by the Watkins Glen Police Department from October 2010 through about April 2018.
Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph Fazzary recused himself from both cases. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten was appointed special prosecutor in the initial investigation and Yates County D.A. Todd Cassella handled the second prosecution.
Matthews, who admitted sleeping on the job during overnight shifts but never being punished for it, faced a potential one-year jail sentence as a result of the official misconduct plea, but the judge only sentenced him to pay state-mandated surcharges, Buzzetti said.
“I think this result shows the level of integrity and honesty Mr. Matthews has," said Buzzetti, who added there was never any cause to file perjury charges.
“I think it had everything to do with the total lack of evidence," he said. "Eight counts of felony level perjury, with no evidence of any lying on the part of Mr. Matthews."
Leszyk confirmed Matthews officially resigned from the Watkins Glen Police Department during the course of the second criminal investigation.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Watkins Glen cop pleads guilty to official misconduct, perjury dropped
