Guilderland

Former Albany County Legislator Brian Scavo, who is awaiting sentencing on a fraud conviction, was arrested in a separate incident Dec. 26 at Crossgates Mall and charged with misdemeanor harassment stemming from an alleged stalking incident of a mall employee on Dec. 19.

The arrest came nine days after Scavo was convicted of two felony counts of check fraud. Scavo is free on $25,000 bail until his sentencing on the fraud case, which is scheduled for Feb. 26 in state Supreme Court.

In the Guilderland case, town police say Scavo, 62, of Albany, approached a 26-year-old woman outside Bally Total Fitness and asked for her name and phone number, Deputy Police Chief Curtis Cox said. The woman told police she had four to five unwanted encounters with Scavo at the mall over the last year.

"The victim felt like the defendant had been waiting for her outside the gym," the police report said. "The victim has had previous contact with defendant and has made victim very uncomfortable with his interactions."

Scavo, a Democrat, has had several scrapes with the law.

In 2008, Scavo was charged with stalking a 25-year old woman but the case was dismissed in 2009. A judge ruled that prosecutors had not documented enough incidents to meet the legal definition of stalking.

In 2008, Scavo was charged with second-degree harassment, a violation, after an alleged scuffle with one of his tenants. The tenant was also charged. The cases against both were dismissed.

In 2011, Scavo was charged with forging a tenant's signature on an eviction document, and that case was also dismissed.

In March 2015, Scavo was arrested by Bethlehem police and charged with trying to pass $5,450 in bogus checks at a Bethlehem bank and, last month, Scavo was convicted on two charges of possession of a forged instrument. He faces 2 to 7 years in prison.

Scavo, an Albany Democrat, represented the Delaware Avenue area from 2008 to 2011 in the County Legislature. Scavo tried to run for office again last year, but his election bid ended when the Board of Elections ruled the address listed on his petition was not within the election district.

Scavo is scheduled to appear in Guilderland Town Court Thursday evening to be arraigned on a charge of first-degree misdemeanor harassment.

ccrowley@timesunion.com • 518-454-5348 • @townstu • http://facebook.com/cathleenFcrowley