Webster to settle lawsuit over false Kohl’s theft arrest

The Webster Town Board was scheduled to vote Thursday on a resolution to pay $37,500 to settle a federal lawsuit.

The plaintiff, Christopher M. Moore, was falsely accused of stealing from Kohl’s department store in Webster.

The lawsuit filed in January 2024 initially included as defendants: Kohl’s, the town of Webster, Webster Police Officer Daniel P. Gitsis, and Alexander M. Moskal, Kohl’s loss prevention supervisor.

In May, the town, and Gitsis, in his official capacity as a police officer, were dismissed from the case. That left Kohl’s, Moskal, and Gitsis, in his individual capacity, as defendants.

The board’s meeting agenda includes a “resolution to authorize the supervisor to sign a settlement agreement to resolve the matter of Moore v. Town of Webster … in the amount of $37,500, including a $25,000 deductible.”

Detailed terms of the settlement were not immediately disclosed.

Moore, is represented by the J. Morgan Levy Firm PLLC, in Fairport. The firm did not respond to a telephone message seeking more details.

Craig D. Cartier, the attorney representing Gitsis, and Michael J. Chmiel, the attorney representing Kohl’s and Moskal, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking more information.

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 claimed.

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.

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 Dec. 11, 2021, incident in Webster.

The investigator detained a man who admitted to the investigator that he had stolen from other Rochester-area stores previously. 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, according to the complaint.

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

The next day, Moskal sent an email to WPD 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, who requested access to the photos of the man who claimed he was Moore.

After seeing 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.

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