Received settlement last year from Putnam County

Alexandru Hossu, who received $750,000 in a November settlement from Putnam County after being acquitted in 2014 on two counts of rape, was found dead in Beekman last month.

The body of Hossu, 43, a Romanian immigrant who had worked as a personal trainer for Adam Levy, then the Putnam County district attorney, was discovered on Aug. 19 when Dutchess County sheriff’s deputies were called to a home to investigate a report of an unconscious man.

On Thursday (Sept. 3), the Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating the death but awaiting the results of toxicology tests and an autopsy.

Following his exoneration, Hossu sued Putnam County, alleging that his arrest was part of a vendetta by Don Smith, then the Putnam County sheriff, against Levy.

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