MAYOR MORSE INDICTED
Common Council votes on resolution asking Mayor Shawn Morse to take a leave of absence or resign
COHOES, N.Y. >> Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse, 51, was arrested Thursday on an indictment charging him with defrauding his mayoral campaign and supporters by stealing campaign contributions for his personal benefit.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“This is my one and only statement. Thank you for all the love and support! This is the last hurdle we face. I am confident this will be over soon and we will finally have this all behind us,” Morse said in a statement responding to the charges via Facebook post.
Morse is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.
According to the indictment, from approximately 2013 through 2018, Morse and his campaign treasurer, Ralph Signoracci, solicited and received contributions to his campaign committee, Friends of Shawn Morse, and his political action committee, The Chairman’s PAC,
“This is myone and only statement. Thank you for all the love and support!”
— Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse
from area businesses and business people. Instead of using the funds for legitimate purposes, at times, Morse directed Signoracci to withdraw funds from the committees’ bank accounts so that Morse could use the funds to pay for his personal expenses.
The indictment further alleges that Morse and Signoracci concealed the nature of these expenditures by falsely reporting the purpose of the expenditures or by not reporting or disclosing them on campaign disclosure reports, as was required of local candidates for public office.
The indictment also alleges that on September 24, 2018, Morse provided false information to the FBI when asked about the scheme.
If convicted, Morse faces up to 20 years in prison, a term of post-release super-
vision of up to 3 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
Morse appeared Thursday before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel and entered a plea of not guilty.
He was released with conditions pending a trial before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.
Prior to being charged, Morse was arrested and brought into custody by the FBI’s Albany Field Office.
Morse has faced multiple investigations connected to domestic abuse allegations with probes by the State Police, Albany County Sheriff’s Office and Colonie Police, none of which yielded any charges.
In addition, the Cohoes Common Council held a Special Common Council meet-
ing in which council members voted unanimously to pass a symbolic resolution requesting the mayor to take a leave of absence or resign. Only Council President Chris Briggs, whowould step in as acting mayor if Morse were to take either recourse, abstained from the vote.
The resolution also cited concerns from the council on the mayor’s ability to effectively lead the City of Cohoes in light of recent events.
While one resident voiced support of the mayor during the public comment period, two more residents conversely called on the mayor to resign, growing weary of the Spindle City “receiving attention for all the wrong reasons.”
“I am concerned about the mayor’s ability to effec-
tively execute his job at this point. I think that the distraction this is for this city, the black eye this puts on us really needs to be overcome. If I were sitting in the mayor’s seat at this moment and I were indicted on seven felonies, I would resign and I feel it would be in the best interests of our city for the mayor to either resign or to take a leave of absence,” Councilman Stephen Napier Jr. said of the mayor, who is also running against Morse in a potential three-way Democratic primary in June.
“We all know that he’s been investigated by the FBI since September of last year. Everyone’s had their own opinions of where things were going to go. The reality is if the FBI was investigating they probably already knew what they were look-
ing for. In accordance with our charter and to give the mayor ample time to mount a defense and prove his innocence or maybe he is guilty, we don’t know that, nor are we on the legislative body to determine that, but I think if he took a leave of absence to take care of his personal issues and let the city move forward and if he gets vindicated wholeheartedly welcome him back, but at this point I do agree that he’s going to need some time as well just to mount his defense and either clear his name or what have you,” Councilman Donald Russell added of his thoughts on the mayor.
Morse is seeking a second four-year term as mayor and is expected to challenge three Democratic candidates in a June primary.