Former Geneva police sergeant David Felice pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance and received a one-year conditional discharge, 13WHAM reported, citing special prosecutor Christine Callanan.
His plea also requires him to forfeit his police certification, Callanan said. Felice had been placed on administrative leave during the prescription drug investigation involving current and former members of the department.
Felice originally faced charges of tampering with physical evidence, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and official misconduct.
The case grew out of an investigation centered on former Geneva officer Michael Tapscott. Authorities accused the 13-year department veteran of selling dextroamp-amphetamine, a prescription drug sold as a generic version of Adderall, to someone at a used car dealership on Route 14 north of Geneva on April 21, 2025.
Tapscott resigned May 6, 2025, one day before he was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and official misconduct. Geneva police subsequently announced that Felice and officer Nathan Jacon had been placed on administrative leave as investigators pursued the broader case.
As FingerLakes1 reported when the indictments were announced in October 2025, an Ontario County grand jury brought charges against Tapscott, Felice and William McGowan. Authorities announced those indictments Oct. 22; Jacon was indicted and arraigned a week later.
Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione said investigators found Tapscott regularly solicited police department members and people in the community to buy or sell controlled substances while on and off duty.
Tapscott pleaded guilty Feb. 19 to 40 charges across two indictments. Ontario County Judge Frederick Reed sentenced him May 28 to 16 weekends in jail and five years of probation, as we reported after the sentencing.
Jacon pleaded guilty in May to criminal possession of a controlled substance. He received a conditional discharge and signed decertification forms barring him from serving as a police officer in New York, Callanan said. Jacon had resigned from the department Aug. 15, 2025.
McGowan was charged with tampering with physical evidence. His case remains pending.
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