My letter to the Ithaca Chief of Police, Tompkins County Sheriff, and Tompkins County District Attorney upon learning of the news of the arrest of suspects in the Thomas Rath kidnapping and murder.
From: Cynthia Brock
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2023
To: Theodore Schwartz, Ithaca Acting Chief of Police; Derek Osborne, Tompkins County Sheriff; Matthew Van Houten, Tompkins County District Attorney
Cc: Common Council; Mary Orsaio (Administrative/ Records Sergeant, Ithaca Police Department); Vincent Monticello (Senior Deputy Chief of Operations, Ithaca Police Department); Thomas Condzella (Ithaca Police Department)
Subject: Thank you for your dedicated work
Chief Schwartz, Sheriff Osborne, and DA Van Houten,
I want to express my sincere gratitude to you, your staff, and all departments who have assisted in responding to, investigating, identifying, and arresting those presumed to be responsible for the alleged abduction and murder of Thomas Rath.
Members of our homeless community, the outreach workers who serve and assist them, as well as those who live and work in the West End have lived in fear since May when Thomas was kidnapped from the Jungle. Many feared retaliation for what they may have witnessed or known about the incident, and some individuals have been violently assaulted. A dark cloud has sat over our community this summer. During this time, those living unhoused have been without the benefit of outreach workers who would diligently come and find them and assist them. For those who have trouble getting and obtaining needed resources, this lack of service had significant impacts on their ability to meet their needs, making their situation far worse than before.
The fact that extensive searches have been conducted, Thomas was found, and numerous arrests were made in the 100 days since Thomas’ disappearance, attests to the faith, trust, and confidence those living in homelessness has with law enforcement. People came forward to share information that led to these arrests because they not only had a sincere belief that all resources would be given to finding and delivering justice for a man who owned little, but they also trusted that they could be protected from harm.
Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for bringing closure to Mr. Rath’s family in their time of grief. Thank you for arresting and working to deliver justice to those responsible. And thank you for serving and protecting our community day in and day out.
Cynthia Brock
Ithaca City Council
First Ward Alderperson
Planning and Economic Development Committee
Chair, Special Joint Committee for Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Plant
Chair, Tompkins County Water Resources Council