Loggers Arrested For Cheating Stephentown Woman

by David Flint
Two loggers were arrested on Friday, June 17, on charges of Grand Larceny for having stolen a considerable amount of timber from an elderly Stephentown woman. According to Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally, William Thomas, 71, and Kenneth Thomas, 38, were both arraigned in Nassau Town Court and charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the 3rd degree, a Class D felony. The State Police report indicates that Kenneth Thomas resides in Troy and William Thomas resides in Governeur, NY. They were released on $1,000 bail and ordered to return to Stephentown Court on July 13.
The charges stem from an investigation by the New York State Police and the District Attorney’s Office after the landowner and her attorney, Brian Baker of Stephentown, secured a timber survey that demonstrated the loss and damage. It is alleged that the pair stole over $30,000 worth of lumber from the woman who had hired them to cut firewood and saw logs. Allegedly the father and son pair paid the landowner less than $400.
McNally noted that Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison.
Brian Baker said that he was retained by the woman last year to see what could be done about getting paid for the timber that was taken. As he researched the case he became convinced that it was more than just a civil case of breach of contract. He believed that the willful taking of timber and not paying for it constituted criminal behavior. He began building a case and working with Investigators Debbie Komar and Joshua Kean from the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). He is now holding off on civil action in the hopes that the arrest will result in restitution being paid and justice awarded for an 82-year old lady.