GALLATIN — A Columbia County fire chief charged with misdemeanors for allegedly groping a paramedic during an emergency overdose call will have his case heard at a different court after the judges at the first venue recused themselves from the case.
Ricardo DeGroff Jr. was charged with forcible touching and official misconduct by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office about six weeks after the alleged incident. The arrest was never announced, and the agency only confirmed it when contacted by the Times Union after the newspaper spoke to the alleged victim. DeGroff was a former employee of the Sheriff’s Office, serving as a communications specialist, Sheriff Don Krapf later confirmed.
DeGroff was dismissed from the Tri-Village Fire Department after an internal investigation by the department’s board…