MADISON COUNTY — In a Sept. 7 press release, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office announced that a toxicology report shows Bradley Moses had fentanyl, Delta-9 Carboxy THC (marijuana), and alcohol in his system the night deputies responded to an emergency at his residence in late July.
Moses, who is running for Madison County Court Judge in the Nov. 8 election, offered his resignation from his position as Madison County assistant district attorney shortly after the incident.
According to reports from the sheriff’s office, deputies and the Cazenovia Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps were dispatched to Moses’ lake house in the Town of Nelson on July 30, 2022, at approximately 8:55 p.m. regarding a possible overdose incident.
Deputies said that upon arrival at the scene, they found two subjects — one who was identified as Moses — unconscious and gasping for air. Both individuals were administered multiple doses of Narcan and transported to Syracuse area hospitals for treatment.
According to the sheriff’s office, witnesses advised the responders that the two victims had ingested a substance believed to be cocaine prior to becoming unconscious and unresponsive.
The sheriff’s office also said deputies recovered a sample of the substance believed to be cocaine during the execution of a search warrant. The sample field tested positive for fentanyl.
As part of the sheriff’s office’s investigation into the incident, a search warrant for Moses’ blood toxicology was executed.
The toxicology report was received on Sept. 7, the press release said.
In a now-deleted statement on his campaign website, bradmoses.com, Moses recounted that after returning home from a golf tournament on the evening of Saturday, July 30, he lost consciousness and was taken to a Syracuse emergency room, where, after several tests, it was determined that he had acute kidney failure caused by severe dehydration as a result of high alcohol consumption coupled with the hot weather.
Moses has acknowledged his “unhealthy relationship with alcohol” and, according to investigators, admitted to using marijuana on July 30, but he has repeatedly asserted that he had no illegal drugs in his system.
“In a clear rush to judgment, it is evident party leaders and those seeking their own political advantage are comfortable with ignoring the facts,” Moses said in an Aug. 30 statement. “After threatening to harm me and my family, politicians and party leaders have embarked on a campaign of misinformation, mistruths and are defaming me in the public and media. The fact is a toxicology screen performed at the hospital showed no illegal drugs in my system. Judges need to be fair and impartial. Willingness to disregard facts, making rash judgments for political gain, and being controlled by political leaders is not what we need from our Judges. I am on the ballot because of my qualifications and experience. None of that has changed and I still remain the most qualified to serve as county judge.”
The Cazenovia Republican reached out to Moses for comment on the toxicology report received by the sheriff’s office but had not received a response by press time.
Because of New York State’s “Good Samaritan Law,” no one involved in the incident is likely to face criminal charges.
“It is standard practice to pursue toxicology warrants for victim blood in serious overdose cases,” said Lieutenant Jon Morticelli, of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. “The goal of the police investigation into these cases is to identify, arrest and prosecute the individual responsible for supplying the drug that led to the overdose incident. There are a number of applicable charges in both the state and federal legal systems that can be used to prosecute an individual who supplies drugs that lead to an overdose that causes injury or death to the end user of said drugs.”
The only way to prove that a drug led to injury/death, Morticelli added, is to obtain a toxicology report on the person who experienced the overdose.
The lieutenant also said that the sheriff’s office’s investigation into the source of the narcotics involved in Moses’ alleged overdose is ongoing. Anyone who has knowledge of the incident should contact the criminal investigations division at 315-366-2311.
Moses is the only candidate whose name will appear on the ballot for the judgeship. However, in the wake of the allegation against him, the Madison County Republican and Conservative Parties rescinded their endorsements of his campaign and announced their support for a write-in effort to elect local attorney and Cazenovia Associate Village Justice Rhonda Youngs.
Because the deadlines have passed for another candidate’s name to be placed on the ballot, a vote for anyone but Moses must be cast by write-in.
In a Sept. 8 press release, Youngs responded to the news of the toxicology results.
In her statement, she said that having lived her life and spent her career serving the people of Central New York with honesty and good character, she is running a write-in campaign to ensure that the integrity of the court is upheld and that the people who appear there “get a fair shake from a judge with the right experience, qualifications and temperament.”
In the same press release, Madison County Republican Chairman Todd Rouse and Madison County Conservative Chairman Chris Kendall remarked on the dishonesty they believe Moses has exhibited since July 30.
“It’s bad enough that Brad Moses was using illicit drugs while serving as an assistant district attorney and running for higher office, but it’s just as bad that he flat-out lied to the media and to the public,” said Rouse. “He’s been claiming for weeks that he never took illegal drugs, but this report proves that Brad just can’t tell the truth. It’s a shocking level of arrogance. I’m telling the voters of Madison County that we must succeed with Rhonda’s write-in campaign or else our justice system could be completely broken.”
In his statement, Kendall implored all Madison County citizens to forget typical politics in this instance and unite behind Youngs’ campaign.
“The question shouldn’t be whether Brad Moses should run for county judge,” Kendall said. “The question is whether he is fit to practice law, given the dishonest narrative he has maintained since July 30th, which has been conclusively refuted by the toxicology results released yesterday,”
The judgeship is up for election following the elevation of former Madison County Judge Patrick J. O’Sullivan to the New York State Supreme Court. Madison County Judges preside over cases in county court (criminal matters), family court, and surrogate’s court.
