Lowville- In an order by State Supreme Court Judge Charles C. Merrell,
    obtained by linkinglewiscounty.com, Lewis County Sheriff's Department Deputy
    Daryl Ortlieb had his petition seeking to rescind his resignation from the
    department granted.

    The ruling, dated March 24, 2016, states in part "...Petitioner was
    unnecessarily pressured to make an immediate, ill informed decision to resign,
    based on no compelling immediate public safety considerations. This is not to
    say Petitioner's conduct would not warrant properly instituted disciplinary
    proceedings and possible termination. The Court's holding is limited finding,
    under all the circumstances, that Petitioner's resignation was a result of
    coercion and duress and sufficiently involuntary such that the Sheriff's
    determination to deny Petitioner's request to withdraw said resignation was
    arbitrary and capricious. The Court therefore grants the Petition, rescinds
    Petitioner's resignation letter and directs that the Petitioner be restored to his
    position as a Lewis County Sheriff's Deputy. The foregoing constitutes the
    Decision and Order of the Court. So Ordered." Signed by the Honorable
    Charles C. Merrell, Justice of the Supreme Court.

    Mr. Ortlieb filed claim against the Lewis County Sheriff's Department and
    Sheriff Michael Carpinelli in September, saying he was forced to resign or be
    fired, without being given an opportunity to defend himself against an
    insubordination charge by Sheriff Carpinelli on August 21, 2015.(year corrected)

    The lawsuit stems from an August 17th incident, in which Mr. Ortlieb and then
    dispatcher Michelle Widrick were allegedly observed by Sheriff Carpinelli
    passing documents in the parking lot of the Public Safety Building on Outer
    Stowe Street, while both were on duty. The documents in question were
    originally said to be work estimates for Ms. Widrick's garage, but were later
    acknowledged to be nominating petitions for Deputy Todd Galarneau, who was
    making an independent run for Sheriff in the November election. At the time,
    Ms. Widrick was the campaign manager for Deputy Galarneau. Additional
    details of the case can be found in the petition.

    Ms. Widrick was subsequently terminated in November on alleged charges of
    insubordination of a superior, failure to obey orders and departmental rules,
    participating in political campaign activity while on duty or in uniform and
    engaging in personal business without approval on county property. She filed a
    petition in State Supreme Court in February requesting a grievance hearing,
    which is currently pending.

    Our request for comment from the Sheriff's Department was not immediately
    returned. We are continuing to go through the documents received pertaining
    to the decision and will have more on this developing story to come.
Judge's Order Rescinds Resignation, Directs Reinstatement of
Deputy Daryl Ortlieb to Lewis County Sheriff's Department
03/29/16 06:45pm
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