A New York Town Hired a Level 3 Sex Offender. Officials Didn't Tell the Town Board.

 

Michael Innello Was a Convicted Sex Offender. A New York Town Hired Him Anyway.

Michael Innello was a Level 3 sex offender, the classification New York uses for offenders assessed as posing a high risk of reoffense.

He had been convicted in 2020 of possessing child sexual abuse material and sexually abusing an unconscious woman. He served five years in prison.

Then, in March 2025, the Town of Woodstock hired him as a maintenance worker.

His job included work in public spaces, including areas near schools, parks, summer camps, and the Woodstock Elementary School.

Residents were furious.

The controversy grew when town officials said Supervisor Bill McKenna had not disclosed Innello's criminal history to the board when he was hired. McKenna defended the decision, saying Innello deserved a fresh start.

The Town Board eventually voted to terminate Innello's employment. A prolonged legal and political battle followed, including an attempted reinstatement.

In September 2026, Innello finally resigned.

People can serve their sentences and rebuild their lives.

But communities are also entitled to ask hard questions about who knew what, what safeguards existed, and why critical information apparently wasn't disclosed when a high-risk registered sex offender was placed in a public job around spaces used by children.

That accountability doesn't end with Innello.