Assistant Attorney General Stacey Hamilton could potentially face charges of third-degree criminal tampering for allegedly damaging a neighbor’s car by throwing an unidentified liquid on it in November.
Hamilton’s attorney has accused Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office of bias, despite the case being handled by an independent special prosecutor.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office has garnered significant national recognition for its investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged misconduct. This investigation recently concluded with a successful lawsuit against the former president for business fraud, resulting in a judgment exceeding $464 million.
“However, the purported charge against Hamilton is entirely unrelated to Trump, instead involving an alleged dispute or incident between the assistant attorney general and her neighbor,” Newsweek reported.
“Hamilton, who has worked for multiple state government agencies in the Empire State, denied to The Times Union that she had been charged with any crime, purportedly telling the paper’s reporter over the phone that they ‘really need to actually do some investigating,’” the outlet added.
According to court records cited by The Times Union, Hamilton allegedly poured “unidentified liquids” on a neighbor’s car on November 16. The neighbor later reported the incident to the police, stating that the liquid had damaged the paint on his car.
Hamilton’s attorney, Kevin Gagan, informed the newspaper that the girlfriend of the car owner had supposedly assaulted the assistant attorney general on the same evening as the alleged vandalism. The girlfriend is now facing a misdemeanor charge for assault.
Assistant to Letitia James faces misdemeanor charge in Albany City Court
Stacey Hamilton faces vandalism-related charge; her attorney claims she's being treated unfairly by David Soares' office — although it has handed case to a special prosecutorhttps://t.co/p5tJiBbxOM
— CapBlackSafety (@CapBlackSafety) March 30, 2024
Letitia James' assistant may face charge of criminal tampering. Assistant New York Attorney General Stacey Hamilton was charged with a misdemeanor in Albany County. https://t.co/8QovkrBgzw
— Frank Stephens ~ Constitutionalist (@FrankStephens5) March 29, 2024
Gagan claimed that the vandalism complaint was fabricated to “get [Hamilton] arrested and to get into the papers to embarrass her so that she would drop the criminal case against this guy’s girlfriend—that’s the whole case.”
Additionally, he alleged that the actions of Soares’ office were responsible for orchestrating this situation, possibly due to a personal grudge held by a former colleague of Hamilton’s who is employed there.
Contrary to these allegations, the office has categorically denied any involvement in the supposed prosecution of Hamilton. They have explicitly stated to the newspaper that there is absolutely no truth to the claims of clandestine manipulation by any member of their office.
When questioned about a court document that referenced the tampering accusation, Hamilton responded to The Times Union during a phone conversation, stating, “It is evident that you require further investigation and an update in your understanding,” as the document did not imply that she was being formally charged with any offense.
“It’s a piece of paper. Do you understand what words mean?” Hamilton said. “I understand what’s written on a piece of paper… If you do anything else with false information other than asserting it to me on the phone, you better be real careful.”
Reports indicate that the assistant attorney general, Hamilton, was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to address vandalism charges. Nevertheless, Judge John Reilly of City Court has rescheduled the hearing for April 17. If she is convicted of third-degree criminal tampering, she could potentially be sentenced to a maximum of 90 days in jail.