UPDATE: Lewis County contractor charged with felony grand larceny and felony lien law violation allegedly ceased contact with customer over projects that were never started

RUTLAND- A Lewis County area resident is faced with felony charges that trace back to a reported larceny complaint last summer in the North Country.

On Tuesday afternoon, the New York State Police (Watertown) announced the arrest of Ronald V. Herzig, 51, of Copenhagen, NY for one felony count each of grand larceny in the second-degree (property values exceeding $50,000) and a lien law violation.

According to Troopers, this arrest stems from a larceny investigation that began last August in the town of Rutland, Jefferson County.

According to State Police officials, a customer of Herzig solidified multiple construction contracts in the spring of 2025.

It is reported that this victim provided over $164,000 for these contracts to be fulfilled. Investigators determined that while a portion of the work was completed, significant portions of the contracted projects were never actually started.

It is reported that the victim made multiple attempts to contact Herzig to complete the work or issue a refund, but Herzig allegedly ceased communication in return.

Further investigation revealed that the funds were not maintained in a separate business account as required under New York State Lien Law and were allegedly used for personal expenditures unrelated to the contracted projects.

At press time, police said Herzig was arraigned and released on pre-trial, pending further court proceedings. 

NYSP image.