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Investigators say judge lied

Updated: Tuesday, July 8 2014, 08:35 PM EDT
Waterloo, NY- Acting Waterloo Village Justice Roger Barto was indicted Monday, almost one year after he claimed to be attacked by two people when he was leaving court.
Barto faces charges ranging from Grand Larceny to Defrauding the Government, among other charges.
Investigators say there’s no evidence to back up his claim that he was attacked and knocked out with a toilet seat back in August of 2013.
Some in the Village of Waterloo were skeptical about the Judge’s story back in 2013.
“Waterloo is pretty tame,” said Linda Ochs, a Waterloo resident. “If you were assaulted with something like that you would have definitely had some kind of head injury or would have had to seek emergency help.”
After his arraignment Monday, Judge Barto was processed at the Waterloo Police Department and released.
“I think they should replace him with someone immediately,” Ochs said, referring to the fact that Barto is still a judge. “How can you trust or believe what he has to say?”
Seneca County District Attorney Barry Porsch said Barto was released because he is not a flight risk, and has not been convicted.
“It’s normal for someone who has just been arraigned on an indictment,” Barto said. “He’s still a judge, and in New York State, only a court of appeals can remove a judge.”

The charges brought against Judge Barto resulted from a ten-month investigation conducted by law enforcement.
In the indictment, Barto is also accused of stealing gasoline from the Village of Waterloo, as well as falsifying business records.
13WHAM News tried to reach Barto to comment on this story, but was unable to do so.