On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, the Times Union reported that Village Justice Thomas Restino of Hoosick Falls recused himself from a case involving former Police Chief Robert Ashe, due to a potential conflict of interest. The recusal stems from a 2021 incident involving confiscated illegal fireworks, where Restino allegedly told partygoers not to cooperate with the police.

Special prosecutor Nicholas Rohlfing motioned last week to have the case reassigned to a different judge. While Restino denied any wrongdoing, he stated in a memo that he would step aside to avoid the appearance of a conflict. Restino noted that Brian Premo, Ashe’s attorney, and then-District Attorney Paul Czajka, who is now deceased, had approved of his initial handling of the matter.

Rohlfing claims Restino was present at a Fairbanks Road party on June 5, 2021, where numerous illegal fireworks were set off, one of which severely injured a person. Some of these fireworks were later confiscated, and Ashe was accused of taking them for personal use. Rohlfing argued that Restino’s presence at the party created a deep and undisclosed conflict of interest, calling into question the integrity of every decision made in the case.

The motion also alleges that Ashe and Restino spoke by phone four times on the night of the party between 6:57 and 11:52 p.m., and four more times between June 6 and June 9. Furthermore, based on a recording obtained by the special prosecutor from an unspecified date between an unnamed trooper and a Hoosick Falls police officer, an allegedly intoxicated Restino allegedly told partygoers not to talk to the police.

According to Rohlfing, the motion was necessary because a recording related to Ashe seeking to withdraw his guilty plea in 2024 was “accidentally erased.” Ashe’s attorney, Arthur Frost of the firm Frost & Kavanaugh, told the Times Union that Rohlfing’s motion has “no merit.” Frost believes concerns about the 2024 recording amount to a baseless attack against Restino.

Frost responded to Rohlfing’s motion on Monday in a 17-page document arguing that Ashe is willing to go to trial if the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal is dissolved and the case restarts. Ashe was originally charged with felony counts of grand larceny and filing a false instrument. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to official misconduct, a misdemeanor. At the time, Ashe said he was busy dealing with prostate cancer and has been in remission since 2023.

Frost has been pushing to reopen the case, arguing that the testimony of former village police officer-in-charge John C. Hudson Jr., a key witness, is in question after prosecutors previously flagged him as a witness with credibility issues. Hudson, who was fired last spring, was also accused in November of stealing more than $1,000 from the Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad, where he previously served as chief.

 

 

Source: Times Union