Kohl’s settles false arrest lawsuit

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A federal lawsuit against Kohl’s department store and others, filed by a man who was falsely accused of stealing, has been settled.

The plaintiff, Christopher M. Moore, is represented by the J. Morgan Levy Firm PLLC, in Fairport.

In addition to Kohl’s, the defendants are Webster Police Officer Daniel P. Gitsis, and Alexander M. Moskal, Kohl’s loss prevention supervisor.

Terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

“Counsel will work together on written settlement agreements confirming the agreed terms. A stipulation of discontinuance will be filed once the settlement is completed,” mediator Steven V. Modica wrote in a media certification filed in U.S. District Court in Rochester on Nov. 5.

Moore was arrested by Webster police on Feb. 27, 2022, and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny. Webster Town Justice Thomas DiSalvo dismissed the charge against Moore on May 4, 2022.

By the time the case was dismissed, Moore suffered emotional and psychological distress, damage to his reputation, and about $15,000 in legal expenses, according to the complaint.

For months after the charges were dismissed, other law enforcement agencies in New York state accused Moore of larcenies, based on information provided by the defendants, the suit claims.

The ordeal started on Dec. 17, 2021, when Moskal filed a report with the Webster Police Department (WPD) stating that, on Dec. 11, 2021, two men stole five vacuums from the Kohl’s store in Webster. The report included four photographs from security cameras.

In January 2022, WPD closed its investigation due to a “lack of solvability factors,” according to the complaint.

On Jan. 12, 2022, Moskal witnessed another theft at the Kohl’s store in Batavia, Genesee County. He contacted the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office to report a possible larceny in progress.

An investigator from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office responded. In a supporting deposition about that incident, the investigator stated that Moskal claimed he recognized one of the suspects based on a previous larceny investigation.

The investigator detained that man in a parking lot. The suspect admitted to the investigator that he had stolen from other Rochester-area stores a couple months before.

The suspect told the investigator his name was Christopher M. Moore, and he gave Moore’s birthday and phone number as his own.

The suspect did not provide any photo identification or verification of his identity and the investigator did not verify the man’s identity.

Despite the apparent confession, the investigator did not arrest the man.

His conversation with the Batavia suspect was recorded by his body-worn camera and a still image of the man was extracted.

“The individual in this image is obviously not plaintiff Mr. Christopher M. Moore,” the lawsuit states.

The next day, Moskal sent an email to Webster Police Officer Daniel P. Gitsis to report that he had the identity of one of the suspects in the December theft at the Webster Kohl’s.

He told Gitsis the man was Christopher Moore. Gitsis obtained an arrest warrant for Moore from DiSalvo.

On Feb. 25, 2022, Moore was arrested at his home by Webster Police.

“Moore explained he was a middle school teacher, had been a science teacher for the Pittsford Central School District for 30 years, and had never run afoul of the law in his life,” according to the complaint.

Moore hired attorney Lawrence Kasperek to defend him. Kasperek requested access to the photos of the man who claimed he was Moore. After he go the images, “Kasperek immediately realized the photos of the Batavia suspect obviously were not photos of Mr. Moore,” according to the complaint.

When Moore saw the photos, he recognized the man who used his name as Christopher Cole, who attended high school with Moore.

The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office joined Kasperek in requesting all charges against Moore be dismissed. The charges were formally dismissed on May 4, 2022.

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