An Oswego landlord with a history of sexual offenses against women who were attempting to rent property from him was arrested again Tuesday. Doug Waterbury was charged with attempted rape, attempted bribery and patronizing a person for prostitution.
State Police allege that in June of 2025, Waterbury picked up a prospective tenant who wanted to see a house he had for rent. Instead, Waterbury took her to a vacant commercial property in the town of Scriba, police say, where he exposed himself and asked for oral sex. The woman said no and police say Waterbury then offered to pay her for it. She refused again and he drove her home. Later, police say Waterbury offered through an intermediary to pay the woman not to tell police.
She filed her complaint the day after the alleged incident.
Waterbury was arraigned in Oswego County Court Tuesday and released without bail. After that arraignment, Waterbury appeared in Oswego City Court on a charge of stalking in a separate incident. A woman complained in December of 2025 that Waterbury asked her if she wanted a ride as she walked to a convenience store in Oswego. She said no, but police say he continued to follow her and watch her. He then left but made several passes in front of the gas station. He denies the charge.
In 2019, Waterbury settled two lawsuits -- one from the U.S. Department of Justice and the other from the Syracuse tenant advocacy non-profit CNY Fair Housing. Each suit alleged that Waterbury used his rental properties to coerce women into sex. The victims in the case alleged that their complaints to local police went nowhere and in some cases, the complaint paperwork itself disappeared.
Waterbury paid about $800,000 to settle both lawsuits. He also had to hire an outside company to manage his rentals and has to promise never to have contact with tenants or prospective tenants. Sally Santangelo, Executive Director of CNY Fair Housing, said, "What he is being accused of sounds a lot like what he was accused of previously."
She said the agency is monitoring Waterbury's conduct, noting that though he is under a lifetime ban on having contact with tenants or prospective tenants, the court's ability to penalize violations ended in 2024. The two new criminal cases may provide some accountability, but "we've been exploring what civil options remain for us in addition to another lawsuit," Santangelo said.
Waterbury has been in trouble several times since settling the lawsuits. In 2021, he was fined $15,000 by a U.S. District Court judge for continuing to engage with renters. In 2022, He was arrested and charged with violating a court order after being seen at two of his properties.
“I think he needs to be forced to sell his properties," Santangelo said. "And I think he needs to be permanently barred from being a landlord.”
Waterbury owns dozens of rental properties in the city of Oswego, as well as the Sterling Renaissance Festival in Cayuga County, Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in Oneida County, and Santa's Workshop theme park in the Adirondacks.
Waterbury will be in Oswego County Court on the most recent charges on April 27.
