A onetime political operative and city employee who famously taped Kingston’s former Mayor in a vulgar and threatening tirade has been arrested in Saugerties.
According to Saugerties police, Jeremy K. Blaber, 31, was arrested around 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 22 after he allegedly tried to sell stolen jewelry at a village antique store. Cops say they received a call from the Saugerties Antique Center reporting that a man was attempting to sell golden rings that the caller recognized as stolen. Investigation by Saugerties police detectives revealed that the rings had previously been stolen from a consignment shop on North Front Street in Kingston. Police say Blaber was uncooperative and refused to tell police how he came into possession of the rings.
Blaber was charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was arraigned in Saugerties Village Court and released on his own recognizance.
Blaber is a former political operative who once served on the Kingston Democratic Committee and ran unsuccessfully for the party’s nomination for a Ninth Ward Common Council seat. He was part of the team that helped elect former Kingston mayor Shayne Gallo. He later landed a job in Gallo’s administration as a part-time parking enforcement officer. In April 2013, Gallo fired Blaber after he was caught on a security camera stealing candy from a deli while in uniform. In the ensuing confrontation, which Blaber secretly recorded, Gallo is heard hurling expletives, threatening to have Blaber arrested and at one point shouting that city attorney Andrew Zweben, who was present for the outburst, would have to “pull me off you.” Blaber later released the tape to the press, calling it evidence of Gallo’s instability.
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