Sheriff ’s donor accused in attack
Rosenstrach’s business is the largest contributor to Bartlett’s campaign
A variety of local businesses and county Republicans have donated to Sheriff David Bartlett’s reelection campaign as he faces off on Nov. 2 against independent candidate Don Krapf — currently a sheriff’s deputy serving under Bartlett.
The biggest donor, however, is accused with three others of gang assault for allegedly beating a man so badly he was rushed to the intensive care unit at Albany Medical Center Hospital.
Clublife Health and Fitness — owned by the alleged assailant in the beating, Alex Rosenstrach — donated $2,900 to Bartlett’s campaign in three installments in 2018 and 2019, according to campaign disclosures.
Though the alleged beating and subsequent arrests occurred in 2020, after the donations were made, they have not been returned — a common practice when a donor has been accused of wrongdoing.
Bartlett has returned other donations in this time period, including $575 contributed by his wife, Lori Bartlett, and $175 to John Davi, his former undersheriff.
Bartlett is well aware of his top donor’s arrest. The alleged beating occurred at the home of Rosenstrach and his wife, Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Kelly Rosenstrach, who was also charged with gang assault for the alleged assault.
The Rosenstrachs; Bryan Haag, an IRS law enforcement agent; and Cory Gaylord, a contractor, were each indicted on felony counts of second-degree gang assault and first-degree unlawful imprisonment and accused of restraining and attacking Harold Handy, a local business owner, during a late-night July 4 party at the Rosenstrachs’ home in Kinderhook.
Columbia County sheriff’s deputies responding to the scene erroneously told superiors that Handy was not severely hurt, and that partygoers were too drunk to be interviewed, according to a deposition taken by State Police and obtained by the Times Union.
The investigation into the alleged beating lay in Bartlett’s hands for nearly a month without any charges being filed before the Special Investigative Unit of the State Police took over the investigation. The four were indicted in
October 2020.
Deputy Rosenstrach was placed on administrative leave after her arrest. A trial date has not yet been set, according to the Columbia County district attorney’s office. Contributions continued to pour into Bartlett’s campaign even after Deputy Rosenstrach was indicted, with more than $61,000 being donated since the date of her arrest.
Bartlett has raised about $124,000 up to Oct. 1, the last campaign disclosure filing date, an usually large amount for a sheriff’s race in a low-population county. For comparison, Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum raised $115,000 when running for reelection in 2018 in Ulster County, which has a population more than triple Columbia County’s. Bartlett’s campaign disclosures also do not yet include the final month of contributions, which are almost always the largest of the campaign.
Other donations include $2,500 from the Copake Sports Bar, and $2,000 from A. Colarusso & Sons, a local mining and road construction company, according to campaign disclosures. Five hundred dollars was also given to the campaign by disgraced former Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who left office after being implicated for using the services of a prostitution ring.
When asked by the Times Union why he had not returned the money, Sheriff Bartlett sent the following statement:
“During this term, I’m proud to have received more than 500 financial contributions to my campaign and hundreds of donated hours from enthusiastic volunteers. This shows broad support from a wide variety of people across our region. That being said, no contribution of any amount from any person has any effect on how this office operates. That would be unethical and illegal, and it’s completely against the code of conduct that I expect of myself and anyone making a career at the Sheriff’s Office.”
This is not the first time Alex Rosenstrach and Clublife have made the news. The gym reopened in Spring 2020 in defiance of the pandemic shutdowns, becoming a regional haven for those opposed to mandates issued by then-gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.