It was a stunning development in Orange County, as a former high-ranking assistant district attorney apparently taking his life just as he was about to be arrested by the FBI at his home on bribery and other charges. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.
A former leader in the Orange County, New York prosecutor's office, who was facing allegations of accepting bribery payments, died in a shooting at his home Tuesday morning as the FBI arrived to arrest him, sources familiar with the matter tell NBC New York.
Stewart Rosenwasser, the ex-chief counsel to the Orange County DA's office and executive assistant district attorney, was accused of using his authority in the prosecutors' office to initiate a criminal investigation at the request of a millionaire former restaurant owner, according to the unsealed federal indictment.
Rosenwasser had been accused of accepting at least $63,000 in bribe payments, according to the indictment. He is accused of receiving the bribery payments largely in the form of check or money order starting in 2022, according to the indictment.
Rosenwasser was indicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, extortion under color of official right, making false statements, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and honest services wire fraud, the indictment states.
The FBI went to Rosenwasser's home in the rural Orange County town of Campbell Hall early Tuesday morning to take him into custody when he pointed a gun at agents and at least one shot was fired by the FBI, two sources familiar with the case tell NBC New York. Rosenwasser then barricaded himself and apparently took his own life, the sources said.
In a statement, the FBI said that its Inspection Division was "reviewing an agent-involved shooting," as is bureau policy.
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"As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide," the statement concluded.
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Rosenwasser received multiple awards during his time in the district attorney's office and quietly resigned from the office in June.
“It's truly heartbreaking that it ended this way. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family," the Orange County DA David Hoovler said in a statement. The DA's office said it would not comment further.
Rosenwasser was scheduled to be in federal court Tuesday afternoon in White Plains.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
