ALBANY—Assemblyman Greg Ball has filed a complaint with State Police saying that he found a dead goat outside his home last night, Troopers confirmed.
Ball, a Republican who was re-elected to a second term in the Assembly and is exploring a run for Congress, says he found the carcass pictured above outside his Putnam County home after returning last night from the legislative session in Albany.
"It had what amounts to a death threat," Ball said, pointing to a sign that he said he found tied to the goat's neck containing, in broken Spanish, a reference to the gang MS-13.
Ball beat long-term incumbent Willis Stephens in a Republican Primary in 2006, and alleged a "pattern of harassment" by the "old political machine" against him ever since.
There was no immediate evidence to substantiate that claim; Troopers said the incident remains under investigation.
I asked Ball why someone would choose a goat to send this message.
"I don't know how complicated these people are," he said. "But I was in the 4H for 10 years and I did raise and milk goats."
