FORMER TOWN JUDGE CANDIDATE SENTENCED TO JAIL

DELHI - Delaware County District Attorney Shawn J. Smith announced that George Sydlar, 74, of Davenport New York was sentenced to 30 days in jail on March 19, 2024.  

A jury convicted George Sydlar of Falsely Reporting an Incident to 911, a Class A Misdemeanor, on January 19, 2024.  The defendant was alleged to have called 911 and reported that his neighbor committed a crime, despite knowing that his neighbor had not committed a crime. Proof at trial indicated that the defendant had engaged in this behavior on approximately two dozen occasions, after being told by the police that any dispute he had with his neighbor was civil and not criminal.  

After the defendant was convicted, the Court adjourned the proceedings until March 19th for sentencing.  During the two-month adjournment, a pre-sentence investigation was expected to be completed by the Delaware County Probation Department.  However, the defendant refused to cooperate with the Probation Department during that time, and instead declared that he was innocent of all charges.  

At the sentencing hearing on March 19th, the defendant showed no remorse and instead indicated he was not sorry for his criminal behavior. Assistant District Attorney Schuyler Kinneman argued that when a defendant refuses to accept responsibility for his actions, the only appropriate sentence is incarceration.  ADA Kinneman requested that the judge sentence the defendant to 6 months in jail.  The Honorable Yvonne Pagillo, Justice of the Kortright Town Court, sentenced the defendant to 30 days of incarceration.  The defendant was then taken into custody by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies and transported to the Delaware County Correctional Facility to serve his sentence. 

District Attorney Smith commended ADA Kinneman for his work trying the case and thanked the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office for all of their work investigating the case. 

Shawn J. Smith

District Attorney

Delaware County