Threatening Letters Sent to Putnam Sheriff
A man that threatened the life of Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley, a Cold Spring judge, and Cold Spring police officer was arrested earlier this month when a connection was found between the three victims in the case.
Eugene A. Vitello, of the Bronx, was arrested on several counts aggravated harassment and stalking after he sent letters to Langley, Cold Spring Justice Thomas Costello and Cold Spring police officer Edward Boulanger threatening them.
Langley received a letter in the mail in Nov. 2018 in which the author of it threatened to harm him and his family members, which was the second letter of this nature Langley and his family received within the past year, according to the sheriff ’s office. Following that letter, an investigation began.
A few weeks after Langley received the second letter, the sheriff’s office was contacted by the Cold Spring Police Department about a similar incident. Multiple letters had been received by the Cold Spring Justice Court, which contained “concerning and threatening” language, including death threats toward village Justice Costello and village officer Edward Boulanger, according to authorities. From there, Cold Spring police began working with the sheriff ’s department in a joint investigation.
Sheriff investigators Ryan McMahon and Paul Piazza worked with Cold Spring police chief Larry Burke and investigator William Bujarski. The investigators began cross- referencing incidents that involved Langley, Costello and Boulanger and Vitello became a suspect as a result, police said.
Vitello had been arrested by Boulanger in 2013 for stalking and harassing a Cold Spring business owner and Langley, who was a retired law enforcement officer at the time, was a witness in the matter, the sheriff’s office said. The matter was adjudicated in front of Costello.
Earlier this month, Piazza and Burke traveled to the Bronx and interviewed Vitello who was subsequently taken into custody without incident and transported to Putnam for processing.
Vitello was arraigned in front of Tim Curtiss, a Kent town justice, for Cold Spring court and released on his own recognizance. He will return to Cold Spring Feb. 13.
Orders of protection were issued for all affected parties and their family members.
When reached by phone, Langley declined comment because he is a witness and victim in the case.
