Cheshire police chief charged with soliciting sex

CHESHIRE, Mass. (NEWS10) — The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office (BDAO) announced that Michael Alibozek, the chief of the Cheshire Police Department, was taken into custody on Thursday night. The 53-year-old Adams man is accused of trying to solicit sex in exchange for a fee.

Alibozek was arrested around 9:45 p.m. on November 6 in the parking lot of Hoosac Valley Middle and High School, according to the BDAO. He allegedly believed he would be meeting someone there for previously agreed upon sexual acts, but investigators confirmed that Alibozek had actually been communicating with an undercover detective with Massachusetts State Police’s Berkshire State Police Detective Unit.

Cheshire Town Administrator Jennifer Morse relieved Alibozek of his duties and placed him on paid leave while proceedings are underway. His police-issued firearm was subsequently seized and his access to the town’s police station was revoked.

“The Town of Cheshire takes these matters seriously and is fully cooperating with the investigative and judicial processes,” Morse stated. “The Board of Selectmen has been informed and is addressing the matter in the best interests of the Town of Cheshire.”

Morse confirmed that former Chief Timothy Garner was appointed as an administrative consultant on Friday while officials work to name an interim police chief, and that the town has reported the case to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. Alibozek is scheduled to be arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on November 10.