NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Last year, Dr. Martin Bush received a late Christmas gift from Code Enforcement Officer David Rhinemiller in the form of a code enforcement violation. 

 

Rhinemiller received a gift of his own from Bush: a misdemeanor charge for allegedly making a false report as a public employee in connection with that violation.

 

Rhinemiller was to be arraigned on Friday in Northern Berkshire District Court but this was postponed to Sept. 4 by order of the court. 

 

According to the factual finding of the case, Rhinemiller's correction order to Bush carries potential criminal penalties including a fine of $25,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both. 

 

Every year, Bush operates a holiday display at his dental office, located at 9 Park St. in Adams, which annually runs from the Friday following Thanksgiving through Jan.1. 

 

This year, he received a correction order on Jan. 15 following a complaint about "unsafe conditions in a rental unit," stemming from holiday decorations that allegedly generated noise interfering with the normal operation or occupants' health of adjacent or abutting properties.

 

The order claims that an authorized inspection of the property took place — but by the time an inspection took place on Jan. 7, the display had already been dismantled.