STONE RIDGE – In what has to be one of the strangest news stories to hit the ridge area for some time, 15 local officials of various towns, along with several members of Ulster County government as well as several town governments, have filed a federal complaint under the Racketeering, Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that Stone Ridge resident Richard Ulloa and several other individuals have been engaged in a campaign of "harassment and attempted extortion" against the individuals who have filed the charges.

According to the complaint, the story began in May, 2009, when Ulloa was pulled over by Town of Rosendale police officer Joshua Caliendo, and was issued two traffic citations. Ulloa later appeared in Rosendale court before Town Justice Robert Vosper, where he failed to produce identification. Ulloa was then sent to the Ulster County Jail. Both officer Caliendo and Town Justice Vosper are Plaintiffs in the case.

The complaint says that, following this incident, in apparent retaliation, Ulloa began filing a series of maritime liens and Unified Commercial Code (UCC) statements, totaling in the billions of dollars, against the various officials involved in the Rosendale traffic stop and the subsequent arrest. The complainants include: The towns of Rosendale, Lloyd and Ulster; Ulster County; an assistant district attorney for Ulster County; the Ulster County Clerk; the Ulster County attorney; and a slew of other officials from the three towns, including town justices, a chief of police, and more than a half-dozen police officers and other town officials.

John William Bailey, of the Albany law firm of Bailey, Kelleher & Johnson, who is representing the plaintiffs, said that he was not at liberty to talk in detail about the complaint. He did, however, confirm that a complaint had indeed been filed.

"We did file a lawsuit, late last week, in federal court on behalf of our numerous clients, individuals, and public entities," Bailey said. "We have in mind to undo the damage that has been done to our clients and to stop it from reoccurring. This has not been a onetime occurrence, it has been an, almost, relentless, series of filing of documents."

Some of these documents include: a series of "bills" sent by Ulloa to the Town of Rosendale demanding payments of between $150-550 million for a "lack of response" to several previous, allegedly fraudulent, criminal complaints Ulloa had filed; demands for payments, also totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, from the County of Ulster; and a $2.82 billion lien against the county.

When asked when this case might be scheduled for federal court, Bailey said he was unsure.

"There's a time frame, of course; the defendants will have time to serve responses to the law suit; and then, ordinarily what happens in Federal court, there is a conference held and then the assigned judge would lay out a schedule for things to get accomplished," he said.

Bailey explained that Federal courts try to manage cases in a reasonable amount of time, but he could not predict when that would be.

The Northern district of New York's Federal Court system would likely be involved in this case. However, Bailey said that this district is comprised of several courthouses and none have been assigned this case as of yet.

When asked if he knew who would be representing the defendants Bailey said he hadn't heard anything, yet.

"[I'm] not sure who, if anyone, will represent the defendants — we don't know at this point," Bailey said.

Perhaps even more bizarre, the complaint names, in addition to Ulloa, several other individuals who, either directly or indirectly, helped Ulloa file the aforementioned liens and UCC statements, including Marbletown Town Clerk Katherine Cairo Davis, who apparently notarized some of the documents in question, and Kathy Steinhilber, Clerk for the Marbletown Assessor.

Kathy A. Cairo Davis has no idea why she is a defendant.

"All I did was notarize his signature. And so did Kathy Steinhilber. This has never happened before. He [Ulloa] told me that nothing would become of it," said Davis.

Davis explained that all a notary does is witness the signature of a persons' name and has nothing to do with any documentation a person's signature goes on.

"No one has called me about it [the case] and Richard [Ulloa], recently, told me not to worry about it," she said.

Said Davis, "I have, simply, notarized his signature on many occasions."

As a person, Davis said she has never had a problem with Ulloa, stating he is just a resident and also ran for a town council position in last November's election. Davis said he [Ulloa] has the idea that government is not the way it was intended to be and has told her where to find out about it online.

"I just laugh and [tell] him that government has worked for centuries — right, wrong or indifferent," Davis said. "He's never been crazy; he just has these ideas about the government."

Attempts to reach Mr. Ulloa before press time were unsuccessful.