County Clerk Matthew Hoose
Ontario County Clerk Matthew Hoose was killed one day before a scheduled State Audit in February 2023 — preventing him from being questioned about the embezzlement of thousands of dollars from Ontario County.
Who Was Matthew Hoose?
Matthew Hoose served as the Ontario County Clerk for several years. He held a position of public trust — responsible for maintaining official court and county records and managing county funds. That trust was violated.
Hoose had been embezzling thousands of dollars from Ontario County. A State Audit was scheduled to examine the county's finances. One day before that audit was set to begin, Matthew Hoose was killed.
The timing is not coincidental. Hoose was the subject of an active investigation being conducted by Lt. Gregory J. Shaffer of the Ontario County Sheriff's Office and William Dean about records not being filed. His death ensured he could never be questioned under oath about who told to not file William Dean's court documents trying to prove his innocence's and that money went missing from the county by is office — or who else was involved.
Killed the Day Before the State Audit
The State of New York was scheduled to audit Ontario County finances on the day after Matthew Hoose was killed. That audit would have placed Hoose under scrutiny for embezzling thousands of dollars from the county. His death — and the subsequent death of the investigating officer Lt. Shaffer were ruled a suicide — effectively buried the investigation involving William Dean also.
Timeline of Events
Matthew Hoose was not filing court documents sent to his office by William Dean for years. That ultimately lead to the discovery of him embezzling hundreds thousands of dollars from Ontario County while serving as County Clerk. Lt. Shaffer and William Dean were investigating.
Matthew Hoose is killed though ruled a suicide. A State Audit of Ontario County finances is scheduled for the following day. The audit would have exposed the embezzlement and potentially implicated others.
The State Audit proceeds without the key witness. The full scope of the embezzlement and any co-conspirators remain shielded from public scrutiny.
Lt. Gregory J. Shaffer — the co-investigator into Hoose — is found dead. His death is ruled a suicide. That's no coincidence, both are ruled as a suicide, both connected to William Dean's ongoing investigation into the county corruption.
The Audit Never Got Its Witness
Matthew Hoose's death silenced a key source of information about corruption in Ontario County. Combined with the death of Lt. Shaffer, the pattern is clear: those who knew too much are gone, and William Dean remained in prison.
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