BY: Denise Yost
nbc4i.com
Three Delaware County sheriff's deputies were indicted Friday, accused of illegally using a police database.
Lyle Chasse, Robert Curren and James Cuccarese II are facing charges of unauthorized use of property.
The deputies are accused of conducting illegal background searches using the law enforcement database called LEADS.
The charges are related to a feud that's been festering for a few years in Delaware County. It involves Orange Township Fiscal Officer Joel Spitzer, who believes deputies have been trying to retaliate against him because of his complaints about what he believes was an illegal arrest.
In a federal lawsuit, Spitzer alleges multiple civil rights violations by the sheriff's department in connection with his 2009 arrest on misdemeanor charges. Earlier in 2011, Spitzer alleges, deputies conducted unauthorized searches on him to retaliate.
Chasse, who originally arrested Spitzer, faces three counts. Cuccarese faces two counts and Curren faces one count. All charges are fifth-degree felonies.
Each count is punishable by up to one year in prison.A felony conviction would disqualify the deputies from working in law enforcement. For now, all three remain on the job.
Sheriff Walter Davis said he plans to meet with each deputy individually and then decide how best to handle their employment status.
