Bethlehem Democratic Committee member Howard A. Shafer, 70, was arrested for allegedly dumping soiled cat litter on local cul-de-sac proprieties on two occasions, according to police. While Bethlehem police Officer Javier-Luis Martinez was driving to check on properties in the Trinity Place development, he said he observed a black Ford F-150 turn onto Trinity Place around 4:35 a.m. Sunday, March 1. The truck proceeded to park near the intersection at Sandy Lane. Martinez said the truck traveled slowly down the road and parked for about a minute. The truck then slowly drove forward and parked again. According to Bethlehem Town Court documents, Martinez could not see what the driver, Shafer, was doing because he was behind a snowbank. The officer found Shafer’s behavior to be “incredibly suspicious,” because there had been several instances in the neighborhood of soiled cat litter being dumped in the roadway, sewer and near homes. Martinez stopped Shafer after he allegedly failed to keep right on Trinity Place. There was said to be one empty box of cat litter on the front seat of the truck, along with another litter box on the back seat appearing full of soiled litter, according to police. When Martinez asked Shafer why he was on the street, Shafer said, “I’m a politician. I’m checking on my neighbor’s homes, seeing what’s going on.” Shafer said he knew a homeowner on the street, who is a fellow Democratic Committee member. Martinez appeared unconvinced of Shafer’s explanation and questioned him about the litter boxes. “Howard, I wouldn’t be asking you these questions if I didn’t already know the answers. I see you have one empty cat litter box and one full one. Did you dump the cat litter in the cul-de-sac down the road?” Martinez asked Shafer, according to Court documents. Shafer admitted to dumping the cat litter and said he dumped the litter to get rid of it. He then admitted to dumping litter in the neighborhood one other time. Police arrested Shafer, of 346 Maple Ave. in Selkirk, and charged him with criminal tampering in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and failure to keep right on a two lane road, a traffic infraction. He is scheduled to appear in Bethlehem Town Court Tuesday, March 17.
In November 2011, Shafer was ousted from Selkirk Fire Department, where he served as treasurer and a volunteer firefighter, after being charged with insubordination. Josh Therrien, then chief of the fire company, claimed Shafer refused to follow superiors’ orders, along with failing to return department equipment and records after an injury led him to be taken off active-duty. Shafer appealed his dismal to state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, but the expulsion was upheld. Lt. Thomas M. Heffernan Jr. said there have been about two dozen incidents reported of cat litter being dumped in a roadway or near a home over the last two years. The incidents have occurred in neighborhoods other than Trinity Place. Heffernan said the sporadic nature of the incidents hampered police investigations.
“In incidents like this there is usually very little evidence that is usable for the police,” said Heffernan. Shafer has only been charged for the most recent incident as of Thursday, March 5. Police said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.