Town court clerk facing 16 charges after allegedly dismissing acquaintances’ tickets

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. >> Parttime town court clerk Haley Whalen, who allegedly used her credentials to dismiss tickets on behalf of acquaintances, is facing eight felony and eight misdemeanor charges, state police said Wednesday.

Whalen, 25, of Ulster Park, was arrested by members of the state police Highland Bureau of Criminal Investigation on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The exact time and location of her arrest were not immediately available.

Whalen was charged with four felony counts of falsifying business records, four felony counts of tampering with public records, four misdemeanor counts of official misconduct and four misdemeanor counts of criminal contempt, state police said.

Whalen, who was arraigned before Town of Ulster Judge Kelly Flood-Myers and sent to Ulster County Jail, was released Tuesday after posting $10,000 bail, according to a jail official.

The state police investigation found that Whalen, a part-time court clerk with the Saugerties Town Court, “unofficially used her credentials to dismiss tickets on behalf of acquaintances,” according to a state police press release. The police investigation began on Feb. 6, according to the state police blotter.

Reached by phone, Town Supervisor Fred Costello said he was saddened by the charges. The supervisor said the arrest was “an uncomfortable situation and is not a reflection on the court. We have a very dedicated staff there.” Whalen, a part-time clerk at the time of her arrest, was placed on leave during the investigation, Costello said.

Whalen began working for Saugerties Town Court in 2021 as a full-time clerk and was working for the town full-time when the alleged incident occurred in October 2022, he said.

“In January of 2024 a concern of impropriety by one of the Town of Saugerties court clerks was brought to the attention of one (of) our judges,” Councilman Mike Ivino said in a statement emailed to the Freeman on Tuesday. “An administrative investigation was conducted which uncovered wrongdoing by a court clerk.”

Ivino said “the town board was notified of the potential issue regarding Haley Whalen … (and a) decision was made to put Ms. Whalen out on paid administrative leave immediately pending an investigation into the matter.”

Once the town investigation “determined potential crimes were committed the Administrative Investigation ceased and the matter was turned over” to state police for further investigation, he said. “The request for a(n) outside agency, other than our own, to handle the investigation was to protect the town and its police department from any narrative that this could be impartial,” Ivino said.

Ivino said Whalen’s alleged actions occurred under the administration of former Judge Claudia Andreassen who resigned on Sept. 30, 2022. Costello said the alleged incident occurred a month after Andreassen’s resignation.

Andreassen’s resignation ended a 2 ½-year investigation by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct into her conduct on the bench.

Asked if Whalen’s alleged misconduct and employment were connected in any way to Andreassen, Costello said, “No, not really at all. She served under Judge Andreassen and Judge (Chris) Kraft and Judge (Stan) O’Dell. They were satisfied with her work performance, this issue aside.”

“The town board takes these matters seriously and wants to assure our constituents that we are transparent and hold people accountable,” Ivino said.

“If those charges are proven true, (Whalen) will not be with us any longer,” Costello said.