State Official Arrested On Child Endangerment Charges

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published September 20, 2018 at 4:17 PM EDT

Police have arrested a high-ranking official with New York state's mental health agency on charges of child endangerment.

Authorities in the town of Coeymans just south of Albany, say 61-year-old John Allen was arrested and arraigned Wednesday.

Allen is a special assistant to Commissioner Ann Sullivan of the state's Office of Mental Health.

An agency spokesman says Allen will be fired from his $132,000-a-year job. The spokesman says the agency is prepared to assist law enforcement "in any way possible."

Allen was being held Thursday in the Albany County Jail on $10,000 bail.

Police haven't released details of the charges against Allen, whom town court officials say is being represented by a public defender.

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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