Additional charges possible in police theft case

A pretrial conference Thursday for a police investigator accused of stealing over $9,600 from the Herkimer Police Department evidence room resulted in no plea bargain and raised questions as to the possibility of additional charges being brought in the case.
The 18-year department veteran Robert Risi is already facing charges of felony grand larceny, misdemeanor petit larceny, as well as two counts of misdemeanor official misconduct.
“No offer was extended by my office for any resolution,” District Attorney John Crandall said after the conference, “As of right now, it seems to be headed to trial.”
George Aney, Risi’s attorney, said no offers can be made since possible new facts in the case have yet to be discussed.
The Herkimer Police Department recently completed a full inventory of its evidence room and new charges may be brought due to “variances” in the amount of money missing, Aney explained. Severity of any such “supplemental” charges depend upon the amount of money, he added.
Risi plead not guilty to initial charges during a June 3 arraignment and remains released on $20,000 bail.
County Judge Patrick Kirk set a July 23 deadline for filing of motions, according to Crandall.
Aney said motions will be filed after reporting back to the judge with progress of the case.
Herkimer police Chief Joseph Malone said in a phone interview, the department turned over results of an internal inventory to the DA’s office.
“We went through every piece of evidence, with some items dating back to the 80s,” Malone said.
As a result of the case, the department conducted the inventory to make a complete list of evidence. And new department policy requires updating the list every six months, Malone explained.
Risi, who was previously suspended without pay, has also officially retired from the police department effective June 26, Malone added. 
But several of cases Risi worked on are still being evaluated , according to Crandall. A couple of attorneys have raised the issue of the charges against the former investigator impacting convictions and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, he added.