Suspended Arnold police chief claims setup, seeks dismissal of criminal charges

Arnold’s suspended police chief on Monday claimed his arrest was a result of a setup orchestrated by his former wife.

Joshua I. Stanga, 42, was charged with five misdemeanor counts including theft, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence and related offenses in connection with what state investigators described as a sting operation to gauge the chief’s integrity. Stanga, in a new court filing, contends there is insufficient evidence to support the charges and asked a judge to dismiss the case.

Stanga was charged after he responded in August to a report of a stolen vehicle left at Arnold’s Union Cemetery, where investigators left $278 in bills banded together in the cup holder of the vehicle’s center console and another $35 on the passenger seat as well as eight fake oxycodone pills, authorities said.

Stanga reported the incident without mentioning a portion of the money and the pills but days later returned $291 in cash along with a two-page letter he authored to explain his actions and his suspicions that he was a victim of what he called a setup, investigators said.

Only one $50 bill returned by Stanga matched the serial numbers of the money police used in the operation, investigators said.

Defense attorney Tim Dawson wrote that because investigators concocted the scheme as a test of Stanga’s integrity, no crime was committed.

“The evidence to date in this case fails to show that the defendant, in withholding the gum-banded roll of cash, thinking it was a setup by his ex-wife, disposed of this case in a manner which constituted a substantial risk of loss. To the contrary, the evidence shows that the defendant held the monies at issue in his vehicle and readily delivered the same to law enforcement upon request,” Dawson wrote.

He contended Stanga’s actions were a result of his suspicion that he was the victim of a setup.

Dawson could not be reached for comment Monday.

Stanga filed for divorce in February 2021, and a settlement agreement was reached in March 2023, according to court records.

The lawyer for Stanga’s former wife did not respond to a request for comment.

Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci said Stanga, who is free on a recognizance bond, was placed on administrative leave without pay in August and his status remains unchanged pending the disposition of his criminal case.