As some Rotterdam residents call for her resignation, Joe Mastroianni declines interviews

Rotterdam— Scotia police say they are continuing to investigate the video in which Republican candidate for the 111th state Assembly, Joe Mastrioanni, appears to take his opponent's mailbox from a resident's mailbox and replace it with his own.

After Mastrioanni refused to answer questions about the video Wednesday evening at a news conference he called to respond to the reports, reporters were told they would have a chance to speak with him on Thursday.

After contacting the Mastrioanni campaign on Thursday morning, the campaign sent out a statement in the afternoon saying:

“In light of reports that there is an ongoing investigation and on the advice of legal counsel, our candidate will not be scheduling interviews.”

During Wednesday night's Rotterdam City Council meeting, which Mastrioanni is attending as a board member, some residents expressed frustration with the video and called for him to resign.

“Why would you risk losing your political career for a stupid flyer,” said Brenda Torosian, who regularly attends City Council meetings.

Following the meeting, Torosian spoke to CBS6, who called on the entire board to resign if he did not ask Mastrioanni to resign.

“I was surprised that the board didn’t say anything about his resignation,” she said. “If we have someone on the city council that’s basically a thief, we don’t need that. He owes the people of Rotterdam an apology for what he did.”

Stolen mail could potentially result in a felony and jail time. Matt Winchell, an associate attorney at Tully Rinckey who is not working on the case, said the penalties could vary if convicted.

“The verdict is up to the judge, so the judge will take a lot of things into account, including the person’s criminal history. I’m not sure if she has a criminal record or not,” Winchell said. “And two, I don’t know how many he took. Did he only take one? Did he take several? I think that’s the question that still needs to be answered.”

However, despite these potential legal consequences, some have maintained their support.

“I saw it,” said Dylan Maher, a Rotterdam resident who attended Wednesday night’s meeting. “But there are so many people who have had it worse, so it’s not a problem for me.”

That includes Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who supported Mastrioanni before the video was released and maintained his support Thursday by sending CBS6 a statement:

“I have never in my life judged a person based on a lawsuit or a personal matter. Legal problems are a matter for the legal system. I look at skills and abilities. “Joe's opponent has real problems that I know firsthand and.” “I think voters deserve to know about them,” Constantino said.

Mastroianni was the emcee at the “Vote for Trump” sign flashing ceremony two weeks ago and once said, “Ben Franklin's final step toward moral perfection is called humility, and he says: Imitate Jesus and Socrates, and as I looked at that, I thought. “This is the perfect way to do this campaign thing.”

During the press conference, CBS6 received several calls and messages regarding Mastroianni's upside-down American flag pin. When asked why it was presented that way, Mastroianni turned it around and said it was a mistake, which campaign manager Tom Kennedy reiterated after the event ended.