As some Rotterdam residents call for his resignation, Joe Mastroianni refuses interviews

Rotterdam – Police Scotland say they are continuing to investigate video in which Republican 111th State Assembly candidate Joe Mastrioanni appears to remove his opponent’s mail from a resident’s mailbox, replacing it with his own.

On Wednesday night, after Mastrioanni declined to answer questions about the video at a news conference he called to respond to the reports, reporters were told they would have an opportunity to speak with him on Thursday.

After connecting with the Mastrioanni campaign Thursday morning, the campaign sent out a statement this afternoon saying:

“In light of reports that there is an ongoing investigation, on the advice of counsel, our candidate will not be scheduling interviews.”

During Wednesday night’s Rotterdam board meeting, where Mastrioanni sits as a board member, some residents expressed their frustration with the video, calling for him to resign.

“Why would you risk losing your political career for a stupid flier,” said Brenda Torosian, a regular at city council meetings.

Following the meeting, Torosian, who asked the entire board to resign if he did not ask Mastrioanni to resign, spoke to CBS6.

“I was surprised the board didn’t say anything about his resignation,” she said. “If we have someone on the city council, that’s basically a thief, we don’t need that. He owes the people of Rotterdam an apology for what he did.”

Stolen mail could include a felony charge and possible jail time. Matt Winchell, an associate attorney at Tully Rinckey, who is not affiliated with the case, says the penalties, if convicted, could vary.

“Sentencing is up to the judge, so the judge will take a lot into consideration, including the person’s criminal record, I’m not sure if they have a criminal record or not,” says Winchell. “And two, I don’t know how many he took, did he just take one? Did he take more? I think that’s the unanswered question yet.”

Despite these potential legal ramifications, some have maintained their support.

“I watched it,” said Dylan Maher, a Rotterdam resident who attended Wednesday night’s meeting. “But there are so many people who have done worse, so it’s not a problem for me.”

That includes Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who supported Mastrioanni before the video surfaced and maintained his support Thursday, sending CBS6 a statement:

“I have never in my life judged a person based on a legal dispute or a personal matter. Legal issues are for the legal system. I look at skills and abilities. Joe’s opponent has real issues that I’m aware of firsthand and I think voters deserve to know about.” Constantino said.

Mastroianni was the entertainer “Vote Trump” Sign Lighting Ceremony. Two weeks ago, at one point, saying, “Ben Franklin’s last step to moral perfection, called humility, and he says to imitate Jesus and Socrates, and I looked at the fact that I thought it was the perfect way to do this campaign thing.”

During the press conference, CBS6 received several calls and messages regarding Mastroianni’s American flag pin, which was upside down. When asked why he was introduced this way, Mastroianni shot it down and said it was a mistake, which was reiterated by campaign manager Tom Kennedy after the event ended.