D.A.: Man Filed Fake Documents in Court to Dodge Community Service

A 29-year-old Spring Valley man who was ordered to perform community service because of his arrest on marijuana possession charges has been arrested on a new charge that he filed false papers in court to avoid the community service, according to District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

James M. Joseph of 6 Sherman Drive is accused of submitting a letter to Spring Valley Village Court that he had completed several hours of community service with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County. However, Zugibe said Joseph did not perform any of the community service and he falsified the document submitted to the court.

Zugibe said the community service was required in connection with Joseph's arrest on charges of unlawful possession of marijuana. The new charge of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, came as a result of an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit of the Rockland County District Attorney's Office.

Joseph was arraigned in Ramapo Town Court in Airmont and released pending a Jan. 10, 2013 hearing.

The charges against Joseph are part of an on-going effort to crack down on those who are ordered to perform community service but try to avoid the work by filing false documents.