Shayla Colon is reporting for the Time Union the New York State Police is looking into Rensselaer Mayor Michael Stammel’s dubious dealings with the defunct Rensselaer Volunteer Ambulance service. On April 17, the Times Union published a story detailing a lack of regulatory filings for the nonprofit, which owns a building that the mayor has for years rented out for parties and events with little oversight. Rensselaer Common Council President John DeFrancesco said he and city resident Todd Rutecki had been trying to find out what happened to the organization since the mayor assumed office. Rutecki was a campaign volunteer for Richard J. Mooney, the Democrat who lost his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Stammel in November. DeFrancesco and Rutecki said they met with state police investigators on April 21. Several community members have since been contacted this week by investigators and questioned about Stammel’s involvement with the organization. In an unrelated matter, the state police also are conducting an investigation focusing, in part, on absentee ballots collected in the 2021 election by Stammel and other Republican candidates in Rensselaer County. As part of that investigation, Stammel's mobile phone was seized and he was questioned by police about the ongoing ballot fraud investigation. Read more in the Times Union.