56°
Saratoga County resident Michael Arnold, age 65, of Schuylerville, was arrested Thursday, Feb. 1 for the third time in less than a year.
Sheriff’s officials said Arnold “knowingly and unlawfully” waited for and followed a protected party on Friday, Jan. 12, in direct violation of an order of protection issued by the Town of Saratoga Court.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was taken into custody Thursday without incident on suspicion of stalking and criminal contempt.
Arnold was first arrested in June 2023 after he allegedly flew his 1976 Cessna plane in violation of a protection order that was issued on behalf of Cassandra Wilusz, a mother and owner of the Revolution Cafe in Schuylerville.
He was arrested a second time in October 2023 after allegedly flying over Wilusz’ home and taking pictures of her property.
Addressing the ongoing saga on her cafe’s Facebook page, Wilusz said she’s spent more than four years being “stalked” by a man who’s taken photos of her and sent her “Hannibal Lecter” cutouts depicting her, her family, and friends.
“Pages of unintelligible ramblings of how horrible you are for a variety of reasons but mainly for supporting the community and for just existing,” she wrote in the June 2023 post.
"Emails criticizing how you are the worst human trying to cut you to the core,” she continued, adding that she’s also encountered fake Facebook accounts meant to “intimidate” her.
The stalking began when the pilot, a former customer at her cafe, sent Wilusz unsolicited “inappropriate” photos by email and she rejected his advances, she told Albany station WRGB.
Since then, he has reportedly flown over the village several times a day, often directly above her home and business.
Wilusz has filed “many” police reports and obtained restraining orders and is “constantly looking to see where he is lurking,” she said on Facebook.
“Being a business owner is tough, being a woman business owner is sometimes tougher, being a mom trying to protect your family in the NY judicial system is really the toughest,” she continued.
"Knowing someone wakes up each day with so much hate for you in their heart they want nothing more than to watch you suffer and find ways on land and above to make it happen.
“I’ve been gutted in this life and there is not much more that can be taken. I no longer am afraid, truly I’m more afraid for the world to not know the truth.”
Wilusz told her followers that she hopes the ordeal will serve as a lesson for others that “NO is a full sentence.”
“Teaching the next generation the power of NO and the ripple their own voice can have when supported by a village," she said.
Arnold has denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous” in an interview with WRGB.
“She’s a publicity hound. She's looking for publicity,” he told the outlet. “You know, I circle a lot of places looking at people's places, homes and everything, and nobody complains about it."
According to sheriff’s officials, Arnold was combative with deputies during his first arrest in June 2023, which occurred moments after his small plane landed at the Saratoga County Airport.
Following his latest arrest Thursday, a judge ordered Arnold held at the Saratoga County jail without bail. He is scheduled to appear back in Saratoga Town Court at a later date.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hudson and receive free news updates.
