Neighbor might be setting me up for a crime

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

Over the summer, my 6 month old cat disappeared. Within a day, I put up a poster and a woman in the area contacted me saying that it was probably my next door neighbor. She told me that he had been telling her all week about his plans to trap a cat on his property. She knows most of the cat owners in the area so she was able to warn them. Unfortunately, she didn't know us. The day my cat disappeared, she said they had a conversation that went like this: my neighbor said "Wanna see a picture?" "Of what", she said. "Of a dead cat?" Pause. "I'm just kidding" he said as he started laughing. She's an animal activist and it was obvious he was trying to get a reaction out of her. A day or two later she saw my poster and made the connection. The police were called but without a body or any evidence/eyewitnesses, the cat was simply "missing." I also filed a report with the Suffolk County SPCA but the investigation led nowhere.

A little info about my neighbor: he's a retired NYC fire inspector that has nothing better to do with his time than ride around on his bike looking for cars with expired registrations/inspections and turning them in. He is in town hall every week filing a complaint. There are many people around town who can't stand him because he is always meddling in their affairs. He is extremely arrogant and controlling. I once heard him threaten to kill his wife during an argument. I try to avoid him because I know he is bad news.

I have had no problems or encounters with him since October, until tonight. I was shoveling snow in my driveway when I saw a flash go off from his house. I immediately turned my head and saw the glass door shut as my neighbor scurried away. My live in girlfriend went over and confronted him and he said he was just taking a picture of his grille. I know he was lying but there is no way I can prove it and I'm not sure a crime was committed. The reason my girlfriend confronted him and not me is because I didn't want to lose my cool and do something stupid.

This might sound paranoid but I worry that my neighbor might be trying to set me up for something. There have been acts of vandalism on my street recently. My experience tells me that he has no problem lying to a police officer (or anyone) if it will serve him to do so. Remember, he is a retired inspector so he knows the law. I also know that he doesn't care about me or my family based on his actions this past summer.

So, what are my rights in this situation? I'm over the loss of my cat so I'm not seeking any counsel for that. What I want to do is protect myself from being set up for a crime that I didn't commit. Any advice greatly appreciated.

your neighbor can take pictures of anybody he can see from a legal (for him) vantage point. If he was on his property, he was on a legal vantage point and can take pictures all day long without repercussion.


to the cat; of you believe what you have is adequate to believe they did something with your cat, make a report of a missing cat and report the conversation. I don't think the police or animal control is into investigating lost animals too much though and since there is no evidence of a crime other than that joke, you really have nothing.

justalayman said:

If he was on his property, he was on a legal vantage point and can take pictures all day long without repercussion.

Click to expand...

There are, of course, certain restrictions behind that, but...I suppose that's a worthless statement as such restrictions likely don't apply here else the OP most certainly would have made mention of such a thing, yah?

I would stop confronting or allowing someone else to confront him on my behalf. If there is a problem, ask the police to investigate - don't antagonize him. that is exactly what he wants.
I would have reported the threat you overheard as well. If you see him or hear him do something illegal, report him and don't confront him yourself.

Updates:

The day following the picture incident(12/27/10), my neighbor confronted me from his rear porch which overlooks my driveway. He said: "What happened last night?" I said: "you're not stupid. I'm not stupid. You know what you did. No pictures. Stop harrassing us. Leave me and my family alone." He said: "I didn't do anything. I was taking pictures of my grille." Again, I said: "I'm not stupid! You know what you did. Leave us alone." He said: "You're a nutjob! You're a nutjob!" I replied: "Go f*** yourself!" and walked in the house.

That night I got an e-mail from my landlord stating that my neighbor had been in contact with her and he was "nervous" about the incident. I called my landlord and explained the situation stating clearly that all we wanted was to be left alone to live our lives in peace. She told us that her previous tenants also had problems with him. She passed on the message to my neighbor saying something along these lines: "They're good people. They're harmless. All they want is to live their lives in peace." My neighbor's response was very revealing: "SELL ME YOUR HOUSE." "No, it's not for sale", she replied. He was very pushy and made the request several times but my landlord made it clear that it wasn't for sale.

The next day, 12/28, a police officer arrived at my home to question me about the incident. (My neighbor made the complaint) I told him what happened and all I wanted was to be left alone and have no contact with my neighbor, and while I was aware that it was perfectly legal for him to take pictures on his property, that given our history of problems, I considered it an act of harassment. I also took him to the location of the incident and explained how quickly he vanished when he realized I had seen him taking my picture. But something had changed about the scene: the grille had been moved to obstruct the spot where I was standing. It was not there the night of the picture! This much is clear: my neighbor is engaging in some serious psychological warfare.

I am now convinced that my neighbor has a sociopathic/psychopathic personality. It is common for them to play the role of victims as they victimize others. Other characteristics such as lack of conscience and the ability to manipulate others are also present. He is a fantastic liar and storyteller. It is clear that he is trying to set me up as some sort of unstable nutjob. Why? I don't know. He didn't need to go through all this trouble just to tell my landlord that he wanted to buy the house. But I'm not a sociopath, so I guess it's not for me to understand.

I would consider a video camera and recorder. do not set it so it has a view of inside the neighbors house. Audio should not be recorded. Recording the wrong conversation can get you into trouble.