Rochester Man Charged with Obstruction of Justice

Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today the unsealing of an indictment in the Western District of New York charging a Rochester man with obstruction of justice.

RONALD L. HOUSE, 56, of Rochester, New York, was arraigned today in Buffalo, New York on a six-count indictment charging that he endeavored to obstruct justice on behalf of four different criminal defendants with cases pending in the United States District Court in Rochester. As to three of the criminal defendants, the indictment alleges that, in exchange for U.S. currency, HOUSE represented he could obtain sentencing leniency for the criminal defendants, and in one case, also pre-trial release, and that he endeavored to do so through fraudulent means. As to the fourth criminal defendant, the indictment charges that on two separate occasions HOUSE made false and fraudulent statements to a United States Probation Officer, first in an effort to have the officer refrain from placing a court-ordered monitoring device on the offender, and second, in an effort to persuade the officer from filing a supervised release violation against the offender.

HOUSE made his initial appearance today in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Honorable Hugh B. Scott, was arraigned on the indictment, and entered a plea of not guilty. HOUSE was released on pre-trial supervision pending disposition of his charges.

The charges filed against HOUSE are felonies. Each count carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years’ supervised release.

HOUSE’s indictment and arrest are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Buffalo Division, the City of Rochester Office of Public Integrity, and the Rochester Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher, who can be reached at 315-448-0672.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.