LYSANDER -- Former Lysander Town Supervisor Barry Bullis faces a charge of criminal mischief stemming from an incident that was caught on tape. Bullis was charged by New York State Police in connection with an incident that occurred on November 10th at the Lysander Town Hall.
He's accused of damaging audio equipment worth hundred of dollars that belonged to a political rival, Fred Burtch. Burtch recorded the incident on a videocamera setup at the back of the town council chambers. You can click here to see the video. The incident is question is about one minute in.
In the video, Burtch says you can see Bullis intentionally spilling coffee on a wireless microphone and transmitter worth about $800. Burtch also claims that Bullis was egged on by others at the meeting to vandalize the equipment.
Burtch, who unsuccessfully ran against Bullis in the Republican primary last year, says he routinely records town hall meetings so he can post them on websites.
CNYcentral's Jim Kenyon obtained court records which includes a statement from Robert Ellis who was seen on the video standing next to former Supervisor Bullis. The statement reads, "I recall some joking and giggling...about how funny it would be if someone spilled coffee on the audio recorder. Within seconds of the joking, Barry removed the top of the coffee cup he was sipping from and began acting like he was stumbling. He then took three or four steps towards the chair where Fred's audio device was sitting and dumped the contents of his coffee mug onto a chair soaking the device. It was apparent to me that Barry did this intentionally and it was not an accident."
Bullis has not responded to our calls for comment. No one answered the door at his home in Lysander. He is due in court to answer to the charge on February 7th.
