NEW HOLLAND, Ohio — The chief of the New Holland Police Department has resigned.
Chris Mosley tendered his resignation this week, saying that the small village of 800 wanted him to be a volunteer police chief without any pay, and that the mayor demanded he work scheduled hours as a volunteer.
“The village refuses to pay me and I’ve been working for a year for free,” Mosley stated.
Mosley had been chief since August 2017. Previously, he made more than $65,000 a year as chief and village administrator.
The village council has hired police officer Alex Chuuom to be their new chief, effective immediately at Monday night’s council meeting. The town’s fire chief, Harold DeSanto is the village administrator.
The town has been embattled with scandal since the launch of their police department in 2016, which has seen four police chiefs and three mayors in four years.
In 2016, the village administrator, Joe Kulin, committed suicide at Deer Creek State Park. The former chief and captain before Mosley were arrested for criminal trespassing; ODOT has said the town has illegally changed their speed zones to create a speed trap; the town’s bookkeeper currently faces theft charges for embezzlement; the former mayor was charged with felony forgery crimes, and Mosley, his predecessor Jason Lawless, and the town’s former mayor, Clair “Butch” Betzko are facing a $2.5 million federal lawsuit by journalist Derek Myers for a host of allegations, including abuse of process and wrongful arrest.
