New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 145.20 (2026)

Criminal tampering in the first degree

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 145.20 Criminal tampering in the first degree.
  A person is guilty of criminal tampering in the first degree when,
with intent to cause a substantial interruption or impairment of a
service rendered to the public, and having no right to do so nor any
reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such right, he or she
damages or tampers with property of a gas, electric, sewer, steam or
water-works corporation, telephone or telegraph corporation, common
carrier, nuclear powered electric generating facility, or public utility
operated by a municipality or district, and thereby causes such
substantial interruption or impairment of service.
  Criminal tampering in the first degree is a class D felony.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1 case (1 in the last 5 years), 2025–2025 · leading case: People v. Fontanez, 2025 NY Slip Op 05166 (N.Y. App. Div. 2025).

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People v. Fontanez, 2025 NY Slip Op 05166 (N.Y. App. Div. 2025). “Defendant contends that the legal definition of first-degree criminal tampering given as part of the grand jury instructions was defective and that the defect was so fundamental as to "impair[]" the "integrity" of the grand jury proceeding, warranting dismissal of the indictment…”

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