NEW SCOTLAND — Two young men were arrested Tuesday for three acts of vandalism police say they committed the day before—at the public library, at the high school, and at a school staffer’s home.
Matthew, L. Carey-Moorly, 19, and Manny A. Wiest, 18, were arrested and charged with several felonies regarding the vandalism, which police estimate at over $8,000 in damages.

“I give a lot of credit to our investigating staff” for the quick arrests, said Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple, Sr. After the three incidents were reported between 6 and 8 a.m. on Monday morning, investigators searched social media sites for any documentation of the vandalism and quickly found photos posted of the graffiti. Apple said that, when the young men were taken in, they were “very cooperative” and admitted to causing the damage.

The sheriff reported that the pair said they had no reason behind the vandalism, which included:

— Depictions on the school of cats, cats’ heads, and vulgarity, which Apple said was directed towards the high school principal, Patrick Corrigan, and cat heads covering the new school entrance sign;

— Cats, male anatomy, and a dollar sign on a car at the private residence owned by a high school staff member; and

— A vulgar word spelled backwards on a window so it could be read from inside the public library, as well as swastikas, and the word “Jews” with a heart at the library entrance.

Gail Sacco, the longtime director of the Voorheesville Public Library, who is Jewish, described her reaction to being told of the vandalism as “I was surprised; then when I found out what it was I was horrified… I don’t know how to process it on a personal level.”

According to Apple, one of the arrested worked at the library. Carey-Moorly was described by Apple as having “authority issues.”

“I think what they did was very pointed and very specific,” Sacco said of the vandalism. “It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t have a reason.”

When Voorheesville Superintendent Dr. Teresa Thayer Snyder was told about the vandalism early Monday morning, she said “I was heartbroken, to be honest. It’s an insult to the entire community.”

Carey-Moorly was a 2012 graduate at Clayton A. Bouton High School, and Wiest is currently a senior, she said.

“He has not come back since Christmas vacation,” Thayer Snyder said. “We went looking for him because we were afraid he was living on the street… When he showed up Monday morning with the other young man we were actually very happy to see him and know he was safe, before we knew the whole situation.”

A woman answered the phone at Wiest’s listed address, and said she had “no information” on the incident.

Thayer Snyder also said “We’re doing everything we can to keep him in school and targeting toward graduation.”

The acts of vandalism were classified as felonies due to the property value of what was tagged. Wiest and Carey-Moorly were each charged with second- and third-degree criminal mischief and were also charged with making graffiti, a misdemeanor. Additionally, Carey-Moorly was charged for possessing a forged Colorado driver’s license, a felony.

The anti-Semitic defacements on the library property earned Wiest and Carey-Moorly each a charge of first-degree aggravated harassment, which is a felony.