-1°
Andrew P. Amodeo, of West Harrison, was given the reduced sentence in the Otsego County Court in upstate New York after it was discovered that an investigator in the Westchester district attorney's office failed to read him his Miranda warnings as required, said Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl.
Amodeo, whose age was not released, was indicted in May 2021 following a multi-month investigation by the New York State Police after he was accused of unlawful surveillance for setting up a spy camera in his family’s vacation house in Fly Creek, a hamlet of Cooperstown, Muehl said.
In summer 2018, Amodeo set up a secret camera in the bathroom of the Fly Creek house, the officials said.
The camera was disguised as a USB charger, but it was actually a motion-activated camera that recorded anyone who came into the bathroom, the DA's office said.
The camera was pointed toward the shower, officials said. Although it recorded many, investigators found that Amodeo only kept videos of two women undressing and one child.
The camera was found by the husband of one of the victims who worked in a family business with Amodeo, according to a press release from the DA's office.
The man alerted law enforcement who began the investigation.
Amodeo had originally pleaded guilty to eight felony counts, but after the discovery of the lack of Miranda warning, his confession was not allowed to be used in court, and changed his plea to one count, officials said.
After Amodeo serves his one year of probation, it's up to a judge to decide if he is sentenced to jail time which ranges from one to four years.
He is scheduled to appear for sentencing in March 2023.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Newburgh and receive free news updates.
