Making his retirement from the New York State Police official as of Sept. 25, Al Riley, 49, has been named the Democratic candidate to run for Madison County Sheriff. Riley, a lifelong county resident and an 18-year resident of the town of Lebanon, served in the NYS Police Force for 27 years.
Riley was born in the city of Oneida where he grew up with his five sisters and three brothers. He attended schools in Oneida and Canastota and graduated from Canastota High School in 1981. He then entered the academy for the NYS Police in 1982. His service began in canine handing in the town of Morrisville. Since there are very few canine divisions in the state, Riley was transferred to Oneida to provide his services in the city. He also served in the canine unit in the town of Sullivan and Cazenovia.
“I have worked all over the county,” Riley said. “I have a good working relationship with everyone I have met in every town and village in the county.”
Recognizing Riley’s honest and ethical character, town of Lebanon Supervisor Jim Goldstein said the candidate has a unique perspective on law enforcement because he has served throughout the county.
“It’s amazing how many people he knows,” Goldstein said. “He is well-known and regarded.”
Goldstein said that he is not only proud to have a constituent from the town of Lebanon running for county sheriff, but that Riley’s nomination is a “historic candidacy,” because he brings so much to the table.
“Voters will take a look at the candidate’s expertise and experience and decide who will serve the community best,” Goldstein said when asked about former Madison County Sheriff Ronald I. Cary’s appeal to both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Riley stayed in Cazenovia for some time as it was close to his family. This department was also the newest troopers’ station, and it was in need of a canine unit. Training in narcotics, tracking and search and rescue, Riley worked with his German Shepherd Burnie until he was retired. Riley began training another German Shepherd Wheeler in search and rescue, tracking for homicide victims and several areas of explosives.
In 1998, Riley finally retired from the canine division to spend more time with his family and focus on working at the troopers’ station in New Woodstock. Riley was head of administration in New Woodstock. He also served on the Gaming Unit for Turning Stone to run criminal and background checks on large corporations that the casino did business with, as well as screening managerial applicants.
In 2007, Riley started to work for the Oneida Criminal Investigators when he was thinking about running for sheriff in the next election. Longtime friend of Riley’s, former Sheriff Cary, told him he was thinking about retiring in 2009 and that he should think about running.
With a future candidacy in mind, Riley continued working on high profile investigations in Madison County and some parts of Oneida County dealing with felonies, child abuse, homicides and other cases that needed investigating.
“I wanted to get back into working just the county,” Riley said. “I wanted to prepare for giving the [sheriff’s] department a fresh start; change is a good thing.”
Because he has worked in several areas of law enforcement in different locations, Riley said he would like to bring “community policing” into Madison County.
“It’s about meeting people and putting [sheriff’s] deputies at events, big and small to show our presence and get to know the community.”
Riley would like to see community members become comfortable with the sheriff’s deputies to a point that they can call and let them know if there is something criminal going on in their town or village, without hesitation. “A lot of crimes can be solved by talking to people,” Riley said.
If elected, he would also like to see more recruitment in the department. “With the economy the way it is, there are probably some highly qualified people out there that are looking for a [law enforcement] job,” Riley said.
Riley, his wife Carol, and his daughters Rebekah, 18, and Alexandra, 15, live on their 110-acre farm in Lebanon. The chicken, pig and grass-fed beef farm called the Purple Tie Farm, in honor of NYS Troopers, has been up and running fore more than 15 years after the family restored and older farm that was on their property.
Republican nominee: Jim Zophy
After learning law enforcement at Beale Air Force Base in California and serving in Operation Desert Shield in the Gulf War, Canastota Police Chief Jim Zophy, 42, of Morrisville, has been named as the Republican nominee to run for Madison County Sheriff.
The Madison County Republican Committee announced Zophy’s candidacy Sept. 24 at a committee meeting at the Rusty Rail, Canastota.
Zophy, who is in his sixth year of serving as Canastota police chief, grew up in and around the town of Smithfield while his father ran the family business in Peterboro, Zophy’s Silverplating. Zophy graduated from Morrisville-Eaton High School in 1986 and he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force the following year. Zophy served in the town patrol section of the Air Force during his tour in Korea.
He was hired by the Canastota Police Department in 1993 and was promoted to sergeant about six years later. Zophy became police chief in 2003. Zophy has also served as a board member of the Smithfield Town Board since 2008.
Zophy said that although his current police administration and staff is on the smaller end of the spectrum, he said it has prepared him in dealing with several areas of law enforcement at once, while maintaining his position as chief and being a leader to his officers.
“In a small agency, you have to be the senior investigator, training office and be administrative,” Zophy said.
His military education in policing and his supervisor studies at Mohawk Valley Community College have prepared him to deal with an array of criminal situations. He said he feels he has a “leg up” in the law enforcement field because he has had so much experience in different arenas and continuing education.
Madison County Republican Committee Chairwoman Thérѐse Dancks said in the time she has known Zophy, she has found him to be strongly tied to the community.
“Through his work and educational experience, he has the right mix of knowledge of laws, police policies and procedures, and police administration,” Dancks said. “He is a community minded public servant who will diligently work to improve all facets of the sheriff's office while maintaining the most efficient use of the Madison County taxpayers’ investment in the department.”
If elected, Zophy said he wants to use the sheriff’s department’s current resources to their full potential in drug investigations to eventually eliminate substance abuse in the county. He would also like to increase the awareness of the Stop DUI program and the DARE program as well. Zophy said he would like to see a countywide outreach with the department’s DARE resources.
“I want to maintain safe schools and increase education on drug awareness,” Zophy said. “I would like to see schools split costs for programs, or we can make due with current funding and do our best to make the knowledge available.”
Although he has primarily worked in the northern area of the county, Zophy said he has an idea of the law enforcement and criminal issues that are faced all over the county. He said he has worked well with administrations across Madison County during investigators’ meetings and in other arenas.
Because he has seen and heard other resources available in other towns, Zophy said he wants to utilize the county’s programs and solid law enforcement skills to their full potential to better serve the entire county.
Although many towns and municipalities have a limit on shared resources because of jurisdiction, Zophy said he would like to find a way for everyone to work together. “While working in the northern corridor I have found it easy to talk to people in the community,” Zophy said. “I plan to do the same in the southern area while educating myself on the needs of the whole county.”
Zophy lives in Morrisville with his wife Lana and his four sons, Richie, Trenton, Ryan and Sean, and his two daughters, Vannati and Autumn. He also has one granddaughter named Kary.
