Former Crawford building inspector John Calaca won dismissal of a menacing charge that upended his life.

Calaca, wearing a suit and tie as always for court appearances, shook hands with his attorney, Brandon Ozman, after Judge Peter Green’s ruling Wednesday in Wallkill Town Court. Calaca, who has since been hired as the building inspector and code enforcer in the town of Shawangunk,

declined to comment.

The decision was a long time coming. Crawford police charged Calaca with second-degree menacing, a Class A misdemeanor, in December 2022 based on a complaint from the alleged victim, a volunteer firefighter in Bullville. The firefighter said Calaca drew a knife on him when the inspector paid a visit to Bullville’s new firehouse, which was then - as now - under construction, according to police Chief Dominick Blasko.

Calaca was speaking with the contractor about building codes when the firefighter intervened, second-guessing Calaca’s instructions, Ozman said after the case was dismissed.

The inspector eventually pulled a knife, still folded, from a pocket and offered it to the firefighter, saying, in effect, “why don’t you just stab me in the back now rather than later,” Ozman said. That version of events was recounted earlier by a fire commissioner in a neighboring municipality with no connection to the case.

Calaca’s actions “were improper but not criminal,” Ozman said.

The case was transferred to Wallkill Town Court to avoid any possible conflicts of interest in Crawford, and stayed there for almost a year.

Calaca resigned as building inspector and code enforcer on Feb. 17, just short of his 20th anniversary. At the time, he was suspended with pay, Crawford Supervisor Charles Carnes said. He was also facing a town due process hearing to address the possibility that he had violated town policy, which could have led to sanctions.

David Greenwald, the first prosecutor assigned to the case, offered to reduce the menacing charge, which carried a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, to disorderly conduct, a violation that could result in up to 15 days in jail and a fine of $250. Calaca rejected the offer. Only guilty people accept plea bargains, Ozman said at the time.

There was no subsequent disposition, and in August, Green set a trial date of Oct 25.That day came and went. In the meantime, owing to a routine rotation of Orange County prosecutors, Ralph Deluca was assigned to Wallkill. He decided that it wasn’t worth prosecution, Ozman said.

Deluca said he couldn’t comment.