An online magazine and opinion leader. No hype, just the reality behind the appearances in and around Albany, New York by a native of the place. Some of it pure opinion but all of it written in the spirit of Truth, good facts-based journalism and freedom of expression!
Smalbany has obtained documents that have been served on the New York State Attorney General, the Albany County District Attorney, The NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Attorney Grievance Committee, The United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, and the New York State Governor, Kathy Hochul. The documents cite George McHugh, Douglas Keyer, Kelly A. Arnold (Coeymans Police Department), Edmund Seney (Coeymans PD, resigned), Daniel Braden (Coeymans PD, resigned), Daniel Baker, Linda Bruno, Zachary Collins, Brendon Lefevre, and others in connection with complaints of official misconduct, law enforcement misconduct, obstruction of governmental administration (New York state’s version of federal obstruction of justice), fraud, conspiracy, misuse of government resources, and election misconduct, among other allegations.
This breaking news comes on the heels of the Hudson Valley 360 report on March 12, 2022, Exclusive report: Falsified police records spark AG probe (Kate Lisa) that gives details of an Attorney General investigation into Coeymans Police Department misconduct and fraudulent training records. That article was a shocking exposé of criminality in law enforcement, reporting criminal activity, discipline, firings in other police departments and how Coeymans picks up the garbage and refuse from other municaplities’ police departments.
We can’t share more than the Table of Contents of the more than 64 page document containing more than 500 statements of complaint, and more than 60 exhibits, and demanding investigation and prosecution of those named in the Demand. Here’s the Table of Contents for starters:
INTRODUCTION
THE FACTS OF THIS DEMAND
Illustrative Case I: 2-Vehicle Motor Vehicle Accident (“Accident”) [September 8, 2021, involving George McHugh and local Ravena resident, Laszlo Polyak]
Investigation by CPD on September 8, 2021 [cf. Exhibit 61] [Law Enforcement Misconduct]
The Smalbany Magazine & Blog
As to the Unlawful and Unethical Conduct of George D. MCHUGH [cf. Exhibit 61]
McHugh Benefitted from his Official Misconduct and Abuse of Process [Received more than $3,000 for rental car costs in connection with the September 8, 2021, accident]
McHugh First Term as Coeymans Town Supervisor (2000-01) and Official Misconduct and Abuse of Office
McHugh’s Second (2019-21) and Current Term as Coeymans Town Supervisor Characterized by Official Misconduct
McHugh Engaged in Official Misconduct and Unlawful Electioneering in 2021 Elections [Candy-man Case]
Official Misconduct, Obstruction of Governmental Operations, Law Enforcement Misconduct: Joint and Several Responsibility, Individual Accountability [cf. Exhibit 61]
The Keyer Interview and Its Implications: Official Misconduct, Law Enforcement Misconduct, Obstruction of Governmental Operations [cf. Exhibit 61] [Former Coeymans Police Chief provides incriminating evidence]
Notice of Claim: Polyak v. Coeymans et al. [Exhibit 61]
Illustrative Case II: The Matter of Riley Kern [Wrongful Death, Law Enforcement Misconduct, Obstruction of Governmental Administration, Foreclosure of Protected Rights]
In Conclusion
The State Attorney General investigates complaints of official misconduct, law enforcement misconduct, obstruction of governmental administration and other complaints in the Demand. The Appellate Division investigates grievances against attorney’s licensed to practice in New York state; George McHugh is an attorney and subject to the Attorney Grievance Committee’s jurisdiction and discipline. The United States Attorney should be interested in investigating the many violations of protected rights as well as other counts in the Demand. The Albany County District Attorney would probably want to prosecute any of the multiple crimes alleged in the Demand. Finally, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, as the state’s highest executive, would be interested in everything to do with official misconduct, law enforcement, and violations of protected rights. The state and county Boards of Election will likely get involved because of the several allegations of poll and election misconduct alleged in the Demand.
The Demand for Investigation is the culmination of years of abuses in Coeymans and the surrounding area that have been allowed to go unpunished. It’s about time those who have the obligation and the duty to oversee local government and officials start to do what they’re being paid to do, and to investigate and prosecute the criminals in public office and those criminals in public service.
The Riley Kern case, in which a local member of the in-group, incest club, Trevor Hagen was involved in a fatal motorcycle-pick-up truck accident in which Riley Kern, then 19 years old, was killed, and the Coeymans Police botched the investigation is one of the key cases against Coeymans. The case is in the US Court of Appeals and was heard by two federal judges, one of whom stated that what the Coeymans Police did not do in the investigation was “jaw-dropping.” The other judge remarked that the case “reeks of cover-up.”
The same can be said about a recent two-car accident involving Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh and a local Ravena resident. The accident was “investigated” by the Coeymans Police Department even though an Albany County Sheriff’s Department Deputy was on the scene, and the case could have been handed over to the Sheriff, if Coeymans wanted to avoid a scandal of conflict of interest and official and law enforcement misconduct. But NO! Coeymans kept the case and now it’s the subject of an official complaint before four state agencies and the US Attorney.
George McHugh is the star of the show and is involved in almost every one of the complaints. He’s gotten away with murder in Coeymans and it’s high time he got knocked down to size.
It’s an election year so we can expect that the case should get some visibility and attention.
We’ll also ensure that local media get copies of the complaint; it’s something that really should be shared with our journalist colleagues. After all, it’s not every day that something this juicy comes along. Right?
One of the candidates in the November 2021 elections was Laura Jane Barry (R), who ran for the office of Town Clerk; Barry was opposed by Sherle L. Slingerland (D). Barry received a total of 1,234 votes, while Slingerland received 881 votes; according to the Board of Election tallies, Barry was the clear choice of voters on November 3. Two months later, on January 1, 2022, Barry took the oath of office and officially assumed the elected office of Coeymans Town Clerk. Two days later, on January 3, only two days after taking the oath, Barry unexpectedly submitted her letter of resignation, citing “medical reasons” for her resignation but gave no further details about her alleged medical condition, and according to an article appearing in the January 13, 2022, issue of the Ravena News Herald, “Barry refused to comment further on her reasons for resigning.” According to the News Herald, Barry did not mention any “medical reasons,” even though she could have confirmed McHugh’s statements, but she didn’t. Most if not all readers should find this turn of events not only bizarre, but very suspect. We think Barry’s only medical condition was a severe case of cold feet!
Why bizarre? We think there’s a more sinister reason for Barry’s resignation after months of campaigning, a successful election, two months lead-up to taking the oath, taking the oath, and then, out of the blue, resigning. Something happened in those two days and it wasn’t a medical diagnosis! We all know that the most common cover-ups used by politicians for suspicious resignations are “I want to spend more time with my family” and “health issues.” Does McHugh and his mob really really think we’re that gullible? Well, some of you are because you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.
Why suspect? Because no sooner had Barry resigned (on January 3) than McHugh had hand-picked his “confidential secretary” and sister-in-law, Candace McHugh, to be Coeymans Town Clerk! McHugh appointed his sister-in-law, who has no experience in the duties of Town Clerk, on January 7, barely 3 days after receiving Barry’s letter of resignation. Sounds like a set-up, doesn’t it? That’s because it is a set-up.
In a sneaky but strategic move to gloss over the glaring political nepotism of Candace McHugh’s appointment to be Town Clerk, McHugh and his puppet Town Board hired Sherle Slingerland, the runner-up in the Town Clerk race, to be part-time deputy clerk, to work under McHugh’s sister-in-law, Candace McHugh. Rather than appoint Slingerland, she was hired to be part-time deputy clerk at an hourly rate of $20.90. It is obvious that McHugh is attempting to distract attention from Candace McHugh, while offering an olive branch to Slingerland and her supporters. Slingerland sold herself pretty cheaply to McHugh and his puppet board. Now we know what she is and how much, as the saying goes.
Because Barry’s story is so bizarre and suspect, we’d expect any news reporting agency or any reporter worth his or her position to have done some serious investigational reporting, and to have gotten the real facts behind Barry’s untimely resignation. We’d like to know the true story. We think Coeymans residents and voters would like to hear the truth, too!
Then, because Candace McHugh doesn’t have a clue what to do in the Clerk’s office, McHugh and his board call Bonnie Keyer, deputy Town Clerk under Cindy Rowzee, out of retirement, to “train” Candace McHugh. Question: Why call back Keyer and not the very popular and competent Rowzee, who just left the position and would provide some continuity. (“Continuity,” by the way, is the new buzz word in Coeymans Town Hall, now that McHugh wants to extend the term of the Town Supervisor from 2 to 4 years! More on that later, when we cover McHugh’s attempt to get his term as supervisor extended from 2 to 4 years!) Or, why not appoint the runner-up in the elections, Sherle L. Slingerland, to fill the position until the 2022 elections? After all, it was a close race, and Slingerland did receive a considerable number of votes; the community sent a message that although Barry was their first choice, Slingerland was a first runner-up for the job. Not Candace McHugh, who is totally obscure, a nobody!
First of all, it should be obvious what is going on here: McHugh wants control of the Clerk’s Office, which is a key function in Town government; the Town Clerk is an elected office in order to ensure that the Clerk is independent and impartial. That’s not the case now.
Editor’s Note: The whole Town Clerk issue is a farce, and if the people of Coeymans put up with this conspicuous slap in the face, they’re in for even more disturbing misconduct. But one hilarious point we enjoyed in the News Herald report was town board member Daniel Baker’s comment, quoted in the report: “Me and Laura spent a lot of time together…” That’s your deputy Town Supervisor speaking hillbilly backwoods English. McHugh appointed Baker to be deputy Supervisor, probably because Baker doesn’t have the brains to put together a grammatical English sentence. McHugh likes his puppets dumb or dumber! Or at least family members…Right, Candace?
Why the Town Clerk is an Elected Office
There are very good reasons why the office of the Town Clerk is an elected office and not an appointed office. Take heed, Mr. McHugh! Here are a dozen reasons off the top of our head:
The office of the Town Clerk fulfills requests made for disclosure of public access information kept by the Town.The Clerk is required to provide that information under the provisions of the Public Officers Law and the Freedom of Information Law (F.O.I.L.). In other words, the Office of the Town Clerk is essential to transparency and accountability in local government, providing everything from minutes of meetings to police reports. Now that George McHugh has the Police Department – and we know how corrupt the Coeymans PD is — in his one pocket and the main source of Town information in his other pocket, his sister-in-law, Candace McHugh, now Town Clerk. How much transparency and accountability do you think you can expect? This is the start to controlling what you get to know under New York State Law.
The office of the Town Clerk is an elected office; that is, it is the choice of the electorate, not the choice of Mr. McHugh or his puppets on the Town Board, at least two of whom are or were McHugh appointees as well (Bruno and Tutay). Polarization appears to be McHugh’s agenda. An elected Town Clerk is accountable to the voters, the electorate; an appointed Town Clerk, Candace McHugh, is accountable to McHugh, who appointed her. Could it get any more arrogant? George McHugh is Candace McHugh’s brother-in-law; she’s married to McHugh’s brother! McHugh is so arrogant that he doesn’t give a damn what Coeymans thinks, he’s going to commit glaring political nepotism right under your noses!
Candidates for Town Clerk campaign for the office based on their credentials and experience. The Town Clerk is elected because the People feel they can trust the candidate. Candidates are elected on merit, not their connections. Being the Town Supervisor’s sister-in-law, and his former “confidential” secretary are not credentials qualifying a candidate or an appointee for the office of Town Clerk.
Elected Town Clerks must remain independent and impartial in their actions and the execution of their duties according to governing law, and service to the public.Their allegiance is to the public, not to the guy who appointed her, who happens to be her brother-in-law! The competent Town Clerk has to be completely familiar with the laws governing the position such as the Open Meetings Law and the Municipalities Laws. In Coeymans, the Town Clerk also manages cemeteries and is the Tax Collector, so the Clerk must be familiar also with the laws concerning those activities. Candace McHugh does not have those qualifications.
The Town Clerk must be independent, impartial, and must have a wide range of knowledge of the law, because the Clerk must sometimes oppose actions of the Town Board. As a McHugh appointee and being confirmed by the McHugh Town Board, made up of McHugh appointees and puppets, as well as being McHugh’s former “confidential” secretary and his current sister-in-law, Candace McHugh cannot perform as required.
It is a well-known fact that nepotism runs rampant and wild in town and village government. An elected Town Clerk largely avoids the potential for politics, corruption, misconduct. The Town Clerk has a very sensitive and responsible role in the administration of elections, town meetings, and generally much of town government operations. The Clerk should not be obliged or beholden to any town official based on kinship or favors, like an appointment!
The Town Clerk can be removed from office every 4 years for good cause or for no cause, most likely because a stronger candidate runs against the incumbent. That’s called an election. In contrast, an appointee can be removed from office only for good cause.
The office of Town Clerk is a hybrid office that combines town, county, and state responsibilities. The office of Town Clerk runs much less efficiently if it is controlled, as it is in the Town of Coeymans, by any single entity, as in Coeymans, by the Town Supervisor and his hand-picked Town Board!
In terms of supervision and management, and in view of the fact that Candace McHugh is inexperienced and untrained for the position of Town Clerk, and further is expected to fill the position only until November 2022, when a replacement can be elected, she cannot be properly supervised. George McHugh is unable to supervise his sister-in-law because he is still running a law practice and is also town attorney for several local towns. The members of the Town Board are all only part-time, most have other jobs, and none are compensated to supervise the operations of the Town Clerk’s office, even if that were lawful! The former deputy Town Clerk, Bonnie Keyer, too, is an insider, her husband, Douglas Keyer, being the controversial Coeymans Police Chief, a McHugh hiree and as close to an appointment as possible.[4] But former deputy clerk Keyer has been brought in to train Candace McHugh! Why wasn’t former elected Town Clerk Cindy Rowzee called in to be interim Town Clerk and save a lot of time and effort, while keeping the Town Clerk’s office honest. We all know the answer to that question, don’t we?
After election, Town Clerks generally attend intensive training, and while in office, are required to attend regular continuing training. More often than not, town clerks are re-elected multiple times and their job knowledge accumulates over the years, resulting in better job performance and service to the community. It is reasonable to expect that an appointee does not go through the rigorous scrutiny by the voting public, and may not be the best choice for the job, as in this case. If appointee Candace McHugh is sent for training, it would be an irresponsible waste of public resources and taxpayer dollars.
The Town of Coeymans is not a private club nor a private business. Even in private clubs, officers are elected by the general membership; they may be appointed or elected by the board of directors in corporations and other private business forms, but they are not required to use democratic process. The Town is a New York state municipality, a service organization, intended to serve the needs of Town residents with whatever it takes, within the provisions of law, not the ambitions, agendas, or whims of the Town Supervisor or the Town Board as alter egos of the Town Supervisor.
The Town Clerk is a key person in maintaining what we know as a system of checks and balances in local government. The Town Clerk serves at the pleasure of the People, not at the pleasure of the Supervisor or any board member. The Town Clerk should have the wherewithal and the courage to step forward and oppose any town official’s act or conduct or anything that stretches the provisions of law, or anything that goes counter to the best interests of the People. Under the circumstances, we do not think that Candace McHugh has the integrity or the qualities to do that, after all, she would be inviting family problems if she were to go against her husband’s brother.
The current situation in the Town of Coeymans offends and abuses any sense of fairness and good government, and the People of Coeymans should rise up in active protest to stop what’s going on in Town Hall at the hands of George McHugh!
Of course, residents in the Town of Coeymans are certainly aware that the Coeymans Town Board annually designates the Ravena News Herald to be the Town’s official newspaper, the place where you’ll find all the news McHugh and his mob want you to know about in your lovely Town of Coeymans.[6] If it seems that incest is best in Ravena-Coeymans, it’s because it is part of the culture; everyone has his or her hands in the other’s pockets or panties.
[1] Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part I
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part II
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part III
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part IV
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part V
[2] McHugh and his Town Board take good care of themselves. On January 29, 2021, the Coeymans Town Board gave notice of a Resolution Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Lands Owned by the Town of Coeymans to Albert F. Collins Jr. and Lori Collins, in which two parcels of land were to be transferred to the Collins for $66,300.00, which “represents the amount owed by the Town to Collins & Son, Inc. under a contract for prior cleanup work performed on the property.” That must have been on hell of a cleanup job! How many Coeymans residents knew about this and was it published conspicuously or even reported in the Ravena News Herald? (See our article, “Coeymans: Send McHugh and His Nuggets Down The Tube.”)
[3] The County Legislator’s seat was left vacant in 2021, when George Langdon, representing the Town of Coeymans and previously a sitting member of the Town of Coeymans Town Board, a member of George McHugh’s so-called Comeback Team, was forced to resign in disgrace from the Albany County Legislature. McHugh moved quickly to tap another of his Comeback Team, rookie Town Board member Zachary Collins, son of McHugh appointee to the Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals, to run for Langdon’s vacant seat, even though Collins had not completed even half of his 4-year term on the Town Board to which he was elected in 2019! That’s exactly what the Albany County Legislature needs: corrupt inexperienced puppets elected by sheeple.
[4] Chief of Police Douglas Keyer himself is in the hot-seat as we write, since he is named in the pending Claims as having abused his office as Chief of Police, as having knowingly engaged in clear conflict of interest, as having obstructed or impaired a police investigation, and as having conspired with George McHugh to influence the process and outcome of a police accident investigation, among other charges.
[5] “Gabler Realty revitalizes long-vacant Main St. building,” RNH, January 13, 2022, p. 1.
[6] Re: New York Town Law. The promulgation of notice provisions in the Town Law frequently deters effective publicity. Although the Town Law does not suffer from the politically oriented designation procedure of the County Law, its provisions often cause confusion and injustice, however. Unlike counties, towns need not designate an official newspaper but have the option to do so. Being an “official newspaper” does not mean that everything pertaining the events in a municipality must appear in the newspaper but legal notices, notices of hearings, various administrative and legislative actions are examples of what should be published in a municipality’s designated “official newspaper.”
Unless George McHugh and his Coeymans Town Board sold the Town to a billionaire Russian pot-grower (See our articles, “The Russians are Coming!!!” (June 28, 2019) “Please don’t Mug Me! Just Pot Me!” (July 5, 2019)), the last time we checked, the Town of Coeymans was still in the sovereign territory of the United States of America and the State of New York but if we rely on the “facts” — or should we say the ‘factoids’ — we read in the Ravena News Herald and the crapola coming out of Coeymans Town Hall, we probably should be looking for Coeymans somewhere in the Russian Republic, the People’s Republic of China, or Uganda! What’s happening in Coeymans has no resemblance to anything American or Constitutional! But the corruption may soon be coming to an end (See our article, “Net Closing in on Coeymans & McHugh” .)
The Founding Fathers and the Constitution of the United States, and the New York State Constitution provide for free elections and assurance of democratic rule in the federal system and in local governments, and for freedom of expression and a free press. There is no provision in the Law of the Land made for replacement of elected officials with appointees, nor for Town Hall nepotism, nor for misinformation and a lying press and a corrupt media institution.
Article II, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution reads:
Every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election for all officers elected by the people and upon all questions submitted to the vote of the people provided that such citizen is eighteen years of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state, and of the county, city, or village for thirty days next preceding an election. (NY Const art II § 1)
That’s the Law and free citizens should not have to put up with loopholes, lies, and conniving when selecting their public officials at the polls. When you hand them your vote and confidence, that becomes a contract and they are obliged to do their part!
Freedom of expression is one of the most treasured rights protected by the Constitution of the United States as well as by the New York State Constitution; Americans, despite the extreme politization of the mainstream media, sincere Americans recognize that in order to participate in a democratic form of government, citizens must be well-informed, and the press and media have the obligation and responsibility, to obtain, check, and report true facts that the public can rely on when making decisions or forming their opinions. Again, citing the Bill of Rights of the New York State Constitution,
Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. (NY Const art I § 8)
A very important part of that section needs to be highlighted: “being responsible for the abuse of that right.”
In addition to the Law, there are volumes written on Codes of Conduct and Ethics for the press and for journalists, who, if professionally employed to report the news, must adhere to those ethics. Local media — a good example of an abuser is the Ravena News Herald — appears to have missed the bus when it comes to press and media ethics. (See our article, “News Herald Still Tries to Polish a Turd” .)
We can all agree that because of their influence, positions, and the power they wield, public officials, whether appointed or elected, and the and members of the media and press must be held to high standards of accountability, far higher than the average citizen. Now isn’t it about time that we held politicians and media in Albany County and particularly in the Town of Coeymans to an acceptable standard of conduct?
If law and professional ethics aren’t enough, public opinion should close the gap. According to a major public opinion survey organization, the Pew Research Center, the majority of Americans expect the press to report true facts. In a recent survey, Pew reports:
A majority of U.S. adults (59%) reject the idea of adding interpretation, saying that the news media should present the facts alone, a recent Pew Research Center survey found… One thing the public does approve of to encourage clarity in presenting the news: fact-checking. The vast majority of registered voters say that fact-checking is a responsibility of the news media. And even those who oppose interpretation of facts generally favor the fact-checking role of the news media.
Fully 81% of U.S. adults want facts without interpretation believe fact-checking is a major responsibility of the news media; 86% of U.S. adults who think some interpretation of news is OK believe that fact-checking is important. So we can agree that most Americans want true facts that are fact-checked in their news media.
Both the US Constitution and the NYS Constitution provide for fair elections and freedom of expression and press, the majority of Americans expect that elections and voting be fair and honest, and a great majority of Americans expect that the news media report fact-checked, accurate, and truthful news and information. It’s that simple.
When we pick up a local newspaper like the Ravena News Herald we can’t help but believe that something has gone terribly wrong! The reporting is partisan, partial, and propaganda.
We think that most, if not all, of our readers would agree with the above. We think that most of our neighbors and fellow Americans, yourself included, would fundamentally reject any conduct that does not comply fully with these very reasonable and fundamental principles of American democracy. And we’d expect not only our local officials but also those government agencies, whose responsibility is to oversee local government, to abide by the US Constitution, the NYS Constitution, our laws, and the expectations of the American public. Right?
Well, that’s clearly not happening in a vast number of communities, most notably right here in the Town of Coeymans, which has apparently turned into a community of sheeple, self-serving special interests, and an elite class with it’s cowing, butt-kissing trolls-in-tow. The two-class system doesn’t include the majority of residents! In the Coeymans community there are the arrogant elite and their trolls-in-tow, and then there’s the rest of us. (See our five-part series, Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.”)[1]
According to New York Consolidated Laws, Town Law – TWN § 52.
The supervisor shall be the chief executive officer of a suburban town and head of the administrative branch of town government. He shall be responsible for the proper administration of town affairs, law enforcement and the maintenance of peace and order in the town.
George McHugh has failed miserably in that role and has conspicuously abused the office of Supervisor.
With election in 2019 of George D. McHugh and his mob to fill Coeymans Town Hall with so-called “elected” officials representing not the residents and community of the Town of Coeymans but clearly representing their own innterests and those of a few local business organizations, many of whom are associates of McHugh or his board members. Even before George McHugh was officially in the Supervisor’s office in 2019, immediately after election he moved to combine the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals into one board, and then to pack it with either relatives of town board members or local business owners with less-than-honorable plans. We’re talking specifically about the appointment of Albert Collins, owner of Collins Fuel and Excavation and father of former town board member Zachary Collins,[2] who is filling an Albany County Legislature seat,[3] and Robert Nolan, owner of Nolan Propane, a major business and developer in the Town of Coeymans. (See our article, “Nolan, Biscone, Miller vs. Albright & Sons: News Herald a Day Late and a Dollar Short”.) We should also mention that McHugh appointed one of his “Friends of Coeymans” thugs, Nathaniel Boomer to the Board, apparently to reward him for his intimidation services during the 2019 campaign. (See our articles, “’Friends of Coeymans’ a.k.a. ‘Fiends of Coeymans’: McHugh’s Thugs” and “The Coeymans Clowns, the FoC, Are True to Their Reputation: Thugs”.)
In addition to McHugh’s thugs intimidating citizens at public meetings and harassing others representing ‘undesirable interests,” like environmental conservation and integrity in government, the McHugh thugs calling themselves “Friends of Coeymans” but known locally as “Fiends of Coeymans,” were at the top of the suspects list when town officials and residents began receiving Poopsenders packages through the United States Postal Service. Yes, residents were receiving feces though the mail, and McHugh’s friends were the prime suspects. (See our articles, “Coeymans Only Gets Sicker; Criminal Perps Being Investigated” and “Information on the Poop Senders Investigation” https://wp.me/p2jPFe-3MI.)
The CoViD-19 pandemic did much to add to general fear and anxieties, and had a catastrophic effect on participation in local government and, clearly, on voter turnout for the elections in November 2019. If American voters are disillusioned and apathetic about elections in good times, they were morbid about anything having to do with news media and government in 2021. As a result of the anxiety and apathy, voters made some poor choices. One of those poor choices was to re-elect George McHugh and his mob.
If the conduct of McHugh supporters in 2019 was not enough, and McHugh’s actions as Town Supervisor, with the support of his puppets on the Town’s boards didn’t send alarm signals to anyone with eyes to see and a brain to think with, the events leading up to the 2021 elections should have closed McHugh out of the Town Supervisor’s office for good. (See our article, “George McHugh: Conspiracy, Misrepresentation, Possible Fraud?“.)
But thanks to local news media, particularly the Ravena News Herald and its staff of McHugh cronies, much of the information was kept from public scrutiny.
One significant event was a two-car accident that occurred on September 8, 2021, on US Route 9W, in which George McHugh, then campaigning for re-election, was involved. The accident was “investigated” by the Coeymans Police Department, under the “expert” supervision of Coeymans Police Chief Douglas Keyer, or should we say under the supervision of George McHugh, Keyer’s boss. There were conspicuous conflicts of interest involved, and both civil and criminal violations on the parts of McHugh and Keyer, including obstruction/impairment of justice, defamation, etc. There is good reason to believe that the Police Accident Report was fabricated to favor McHugh. (See our article, “McHugh Tries to Put a Spin on Accident”.)
It is indisputable fact that McHugh, with the willing cooperation of members of his Coeymans Police Department, most scandalously that of Coeymans Police Chief Douglas Keyer, did everything possible to underhandedly disadvantage and defame the other party, to make himself, McHugh, look better. After all, he’d do anything for another two years in the Supervisor’s office. More on that later.
George McHugh Misused Public Resources for Personal Benefit
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the day after the accident, in a video recording made prior to an official public Coeymans Town Board meeting, a video made of George McHugh, the Coeymans Town Board, seated in Coeymans Town Hall in the public meeting space, and video-recorded as part of the Town Board meeting, McHugh and members of the Coeymans Town Board openly discussed the September 8 accident, and McHugh, together with his 4th wife, Rosemary McHugh, published misinformation and false facts. That video was then published on the Town of Coeymans official Facebook page and was accessible by and viewed literally by hundreds of members of the public. McHugh openly defamed the other party in the accident, and misused Town of Coeymans government and public resources to perpetrate his unlawful conduct. (See our articles, “McHugh Tries to Put a Spin on Accident”.)
Early in December 2021, Mr. Laszlo Polyak, the other party in the accident, filed an extensive Notice of Claim against the Town of Coeymans, including George McHugh, the members of the Coeymans Town Board, Coeymans Police Chief Douglas Keyer, Coeymans PD Detective Edmund Seney, and Coeymans PD patrolperson Kelly Arnold, citing numerous charges of misconduct, both criminal and civil, against the defendants. The charges are currently under investigation.
George McHugh’s Election Misconduct
McHugh is the Candyman! At the November 3, 2021, elections McHugh was observed to be delivering boxes of candy to polling places, particularly in the Town of Coeymans, during a period of heavy voting activity. McHugh’s conduct was in clear violation of election law, and could be interpreted as unlawfully influencing voters or vote-buying. The incident is or should be under investigation by oversight agencies, particularly the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the Albany County District Attorney, the Albany County and New York State Boards of Election, and others. (See our article, “McHugh Poll Misconduct to be Investigated”.)
McHugh’s Arrogance and Conspicuous Political Nepotism
One of the candidates in the November 2021 elections was Laura Jane Barry (R), who ran for the office of Town Clerk; Barry was opposed by Sherle L. Slingerland (D). Barry received a total of 1,234 votes, while Slingerland received 881 votes; according to the Board of Election tallies, Barry was the clear choice of voters on November 3. Two months later, on January 1, 2022, Barry took the oath of office and officially assumed the elected office of Coeymans Town Clerk. Two days later, on January 3, only two days after taking the oath, Barry unexpectedly submitted her letter of resignation, citing “medical reasons” for her resignation but gave no further details about her alleged medical condition, and according to an article appearing in the January 13, 2022, issue of the Ravena News Herald, “Barry refused to comment further on her reasons for resigning.” According to the News Herald, Barry did not mention any “medical reasons,” even though she could have confirmed McHugh’s statements, but she didn’t. Most if not all readers should find this turn of events not only bizarre, but very suspect. We think Barry’s only medical condition was a severe case of cold feet!
Why bizarre? We think there’s a more sinister reason for Barry’s resignation after months of campaigning, a successful election, two months lead-up to taking the oath, taking the oath, and then, out of the blue, resigning. Something happened in those two days and it wasn’t a medical diagnosis! We all know that the most common cover-ups used by politicians for suspicious resignations are “I want to spend more time with my family” and “health issues.” Does McHugh and his mob really really think we’re that gullible? Well, some of you are because you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.
Why suspect? Because no sooner had Barry resigned (on January 3) than McHugh had hand-picked his “confidential secretary” and sister-in-law, Candace McHugh, to be Coeymans Town Clerk! McHugh appointed his sister-in-law, who has no experience in the duties of Town Clerk, on January 7, barely 3 days after receiving Barry’s letter of resignation. Sounds like a set-up, doesn’t it? That’s because it is a set-up.
Of course, residents in the Town of Coeymans are certainly aware that the Coeymans Town Board annually designates the Ravena News Herald to be the Town’s official newspaper, the place where you’ll find all the news McHugh and his mob want you to know about in your lovely Town of Coeymans.[6]If it seems that incest is best in Ravena-Coeymans, it’s because it is part of the culture; everyone has his or her hands in the other’s pockets or panties.
Notes:
[1] Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part I
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part II
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part III
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part IV
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part V
[2] McHugh and his Town Board take good care of themselves. On January 29, 2021, the Coeymans Town Board gave notice of a Resolution Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Lands Owned by the Town of Coeymans to Albert F. Collins Jr. and Lori Collins, in which two parcels of land were to be transferred to the Collins for $66,300.00, which “represents the amount owed by the Town to Collins & Son, Inc. under a contract for prior cleanup work performed on the property.” That must have been on hell of a cleanup job! How many Coeymans residents knew about this and was it published conspicuously or even reported in the Ravena News Herald? (See our article, “Coeymans: Send McHugh and His Nuggets Down The Tube.”)
[3] The County Legislator’s seat was left vacant in 2021, when George Langdon, representing the Town of Coeymans and previously a sitting member of the Town of Coeymans Town Board, a member of George McHugh’s so-called Comeback Team, was forced to resign in disgrace from the Albany County Legislature. McHugh moved quickly to tap another of his Comeback Team, rookie Town Board member Zachary Collins, son of McHugh appointee to the Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals, to run for Langdon’s vacant seat, even though Collins had not completed even half of his 4-year term on the Town Board to which he was elected in 2019! That’s exactly what the Albany County Legislature needs: corrupt inexperienced puppets elected by sheeple.
[4] Chief of Police Douglas Keyer himself is in the hot-seat as we write, since he is named in the pending Claims as having abused his office as Chief of Police, as having knowingly engaged in clear conflict of interest, as having obstructed or impaired a police investigation, and as having conspired with George McHugh to influence the process and outcome of a police accident investigation, among other charges.
[5] “Gabler Realty revitalizes long-vacant Main St. building,” RNH, January 13, 2022, p. 1.
[6] Re: New York Town Law. The promulgation of notice provisions in the Town Law frequently deters effective publicity. Although the Town Law does not suffer from the politically oriented designation procedure of the County Law, its provisions often cause confusion and injustice, however. Unlike counties, towns need not designate an official newspaper but have the option to do so. Being an “official newspaper” does not mean that everything pertaining the events in a municipality must appear in the newspaper but legal notices, notices of hearings, various administrative and legislative actions are examples of what should be published in a municipality’s designated “official newspaper.”
A recent motor vehicle accident involving Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh and investigated by the Coeymans Police Department, including Coeymans Chief of Police Douglas R. Keyer,[1] raises a number of questions about judgment, accountability, conspiracy, and trustworthiness.
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Not surprising, the Coeymans Police Department’s taking control of the investigation inappropriately, given the fact that McHugh and his Town Board supervise the Police Department, control the PD’s budget, and have the power to hire and fire members of the PD, including the Chief, sends up red flags pointing to grossly poor judgment on the part of the Chief of Police, Douglas Keyer, and abuse of public office and power by George McHugh.
Smalbany will join with L. Polyak in filing a formal complaint and a demand for inquiry and investigation with the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, and the Albany County District Attorney.
Chief Douglas Keyer, as soon as he became aware that his boss, George McHugh, was involved in the accident, should have recused the Coeymans PD from the investigation for reasons of conflict of interest and possible impartiality, and handed it over to a neutral, impartial law enforcement agency such as the Albany County Sheriff’s Department (ACSD), who were at the scene. Even if Keyer did not recuse his department from the investigation, it would have been appropriate for McHugh to have at least given the appearance of propriety and good judgment by even informally asking Keyer to hand the investigation over to a neutral, impartial law enforcement body.
Neither Keyer nor McHugh did the right thing; they instead demonstrated grossly poor judgment and opened the flood gates to suspicion of conspiracy to influence the process and outcome of the accident investigation, and unlawfully obstruct justice. The Public must demand that both Keyer and McHugh resign from their positions immediately, since both have shown extremely poor judgment and should not be in positions of public trust, authority, and accountability.
The Accident Investigation Was Tainted; It Was Procedurally Flawed and Favored One Party: George McHugh
Important Definitions
On September 8, 2021, a two-car accident involving Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh and a Ravena resident, Laszlo Polyak. The first law enforcement agency to arrive at the scene was the Coeymans Police — Yes! It went to hell in a handbasket from that point on! — the Albany County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, as did Albany County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Medical Services (ACSD-EMS). The accident occurred on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 2524 US Rt 9W (in front of Pickers Nation antiques) at or about 11:41. When reading our report keep in mind it was a weekday, at about noon, in front of several busy businesses, and in clear weather.
Shortly after the accident — in fact, on the very next day, on September 9, 2021 — at the Coeymans Town Board Meeting of September 9, 2021 (before the unamended Accident Report was even completed and reviewed on September 13, 2021, and “amended on September 16, 2021), George McHugh and his 3rd wife, Rosemary McHugh, and the Coeymans Town Board, revisited the accident and misrepresented numerous facts on the Town of Coeymans Facebook account.
The very fact that George McHugh abused his public office by taking advantage of the Town of Coeymans FaceBook account and the Town’s public resources including the video and the videographer’s time to misuse the video, the purpose of which was to make it possible for the public to participate in local government, NOT to be exposed to McHugh’s self-serving public misrepresentation of HIS version of the accident.[2]
After having reviewed the Facebook video posted on the Town of Coeymans Facebook page, Smalbany demanded, received and reviewed the Police Accident Report(s) (original and amended) created by the Coeymans PD, the Photo Log Sheet in support of the Evidence Report, the photos taken at the scene, the Incident Detail Report, the Police Request for Driver Review, the Supporting Deposition by the Coeymans PD investigating officer (Kelly A. Arnold), and the Albany County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Response (EMS) Incident Report, and after having physically visited the accident site with an eye-witness, and having taken photos of the site and the Polyak vehicle, Smalbany contacted the investigating officer (Arnold) and the detective photographing the scene (E.J. Seney) by email, requesting contact to clarify certain questions listed in the respective emails.
Shortly after having sent the emails, the Smalbany correspondent was contacted by telephone by Chief Douglas R. Keyer, who identified himself as the media contact for the Coeymans Police Department: “I handle media inquires with the police department.”[3]
Smalbany returned Keyer’s call and interviewed Keyer per the questions sent to Arnold and Senney. The statements and conclusions in this article are based on that interview and Keyer’s disclosures in the context of a so-called “media inquiry.”[4] Keyer explicitly and clearly stated that he “was at the [accident] scene” and that he has “direct knowledge of everything that transpired on that day.” Based on those statements, but despite the fact that Keyer’s statement was not entirely true, the Smalbany media correspondent considered him to be qualified to answer questions.
Chief Keyer, in typical law enforcement fashion, attempted to play the tough guy throughout the interview but it didn’t work. At one point Keyer states, “I feel no obligation to respond to you” and at another point stated “you have no right to make an enquiry to either detective Seney or to Officer Arnold,” but the Smalbany media correspondent quickly and summarily corrected Keyer’s mistaken assumptions, and the interview continued.
Chief Keyer does concede that the “Town Board” is his boss, which is a correct statement, and the Town Board is commandeered by George McHugh.
With that background information, we’d like to move on to the specific questions Smalbany had regarding the accident investigation itself, how it was conducted, and why it was tainted. The fact that the accident investigation was conducted by the Coeymans Police Department under the direct supervision of Chief Keyer, and that one of the parties involved in the accident was Town of Coeymans Supervisor George McHugh should be kept in mind, because these facts provide probable cause for the charge of serious conflict of interest and obstruction of justice.
The First-on-the-Scene
According to the Albany County dispatch record or Incident Detail Report, the first call reporting the accident was received at 11:41:35 on September 8, 2021. At ll:43:32 the case was assigned to “1st enroute” and the first unit arrived at the scene at 11:44:45 (CPD Arnold from 2 Park Drive (Mosher Park, Ravena)). The first to arrive was Coeymans PD K.A. Arnold (AL5920) and was noted as primary; Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Pushee (AL3148) also arrived at the scene. At 11:43:32 CPD Arnold requested and received jurisdiction. At 11:53 Arnold reports “tow on scene” without specifying who the “tow” was. It is interesting to note that throughout the Report, the location of the accident is given as Capital Care Family Practice (2524 US Rt 9W), the final location of the Polyak vehicle, whereas the accident actually occurred in front of Pickers Nation, 2530 US Rt 9W).
Problems at the Scene
We have already reported on a number of problems connected with the scene investigation, including McHugh’s several attempts to shift blame to Polyak, and changing his story at least three (3) times. Please read our initial coverage of the accident at “McHugh Tries to Put a Spin on Accident” for details.
Obviously, all vehicles involved in an accident must not leave the scene before the investigation is completed. Since the McHugh vehicle was removed from the scene before required photographs could be made of the vehicle, whether the vehicle left the scene at the direction of the operator, McHugh, the investigator PTL Arnold, Police Chief Keyer, or Det. Seney, the removal of the vehicle impaired the investigation and obstructed justice. We have to ask the question of Why the McHugh vehicle was removed or allowed to be removed before the scene investigation was completed.
We should further note that in addition to the numerous deficiencies in the investigation, deficiencies that clearly benefit George McHugh, no examination of the interior of the McHugh vehicle was made! Nor was McHugh given the standard field sobriety tests by Coeymans Police.
Who Investigated the Accident?
As noted, the Police Accident Report was created and then amended. No real problem with that. It’s the fact content of the Report that raises problems, because it is inconsistent, incomplete, and does not reliably report what actually happened.
First of all, CPD Arnold was the investigating officer; she signed the Report, which was later reviewed by a Daniel Braden. No mention is made in the report that Chief Keyer was there, and the only indication that detective E.J. Seney was there is the fact that he is shown to be the “photographer” signing the Photo Log Sheet. No mention is made that Sheriff’s Deputy Pushee of the ACSD was present nor of the ACSD EMS. No mention is made in the report whether or that the parties were requested to submit to field sobriety testing, which we found unusual, since it is well-known that George McHugh has a special fondness for Truly, a spiked seltzer beverage containing 5% alcohol by volume.
McHugh’s Preferred Beverage
In fact, the Coeymans Police Report appears to be a fairly exact rendition of George McHugh’s fabricated version of the accident, and George McHugh’s version alone, right up to and including the statement that the driver of Vehicle 1 was “sleeping” while driving northbound on US Rt 9W! More on that below.
Given the fact that Chief Keyer admits that he was personally at the scene together with Kelly and Seney, and given the fact that Keyer was aware that George McHugh was one of the parties, Keyer should have turned the investigation over to ACSD Deputy Pushee as soon as practicable. Keyer did not and allowed his department, the Coeymans PD, under his direct supervision and authority, to continue the investigation!
In fact, Keyer, in the interview states, and we quote directly:
Keyer: “We went … above and beyond in this particular accident because…uh…well, obviously because there’s a political official involved, and I want to make sure that any scrutiny upon the police department for not conducting a fair and impartial investigation would be squashed from the onset.”
and this is later confirmed by the Smalbany interviewer, commenting to Keyer:
Smalbany: “[Y]ou have volunteered at several points in this discussion the names and the fact that it involves a political individual, namely Mr. McHugh, who is supervisor and your boss.”
It is obvious from the Police Accident Report and the many defects in the report that the Coeymans PD lead the investigation. One glaring point is that the Report signed by Arnold explicitly and clearly states that
Keyer: “Both parties were evaluated at the scene by EMS with no injuries reported.”
That would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that Arnold writes “both” when there were actually three persons involved — George McHugh, his fourth wife, Rosemary McHugh, and L. Polyak — and in the header under “No. Injured” we read an entry of “1”, but Who? was it? Which was it? One injury or no injuries? Or, in Coeymans-speak, both ways?
Arnold also writes “Parties at the scene stated that the driver of V1 appeared to be sleeping.” Question: Which parties? The McHughs? Had to be, since no witnesses were canvassed at the scene! More on that below.
Can anyone please tell us how it is possible that anyone could have observed that the driver of V1 was “sleeping.” Try that driving down 9W. Just try to watch another vehicle driving in the opposite direction, and say with certainty that the driver is awake or sleeping. But that’s what McHugh insists and what Arnold put in her report. And that’s what Chief Keyer admits.
The Incomplete Photo Log
In the documents Smalbany demanded and received, there is a Photo Log Sheet (PLS) Supplement to Evidence Report dated 09/08/2021 at 12:22 and documenting an Incident: Crash-Property Damage, Case 21-179879, and the Subject: Scene. The PLS gives the “Location Photos Taken” to be 2580 Route 9W, Ravena, and identifies the “Photographer” as Detective EJ Seney, whose signature appears on the form. The report lists 22 digital photos with brief descriptions. Copies of the photos are provided.
The first problem we find with Seney’s PLS Supplement to Evidence Report is that he is at the wrong location. All of the documents place the accident at 2524 US Rt 9W but Seney says his photos were taken at a scene located at 2580 US Rt 9W, which is over 1/5 mi South of the accident scene! Looks like the Coeymans PD detective/photographer doesn’t know where he is or which scene to photograph.
Seney Places the Accident Site fully 1/5 Farther South from the Actual Accident Site!
Put it this way: Say you’re charged with vandalism at 2524 Rt 9W but the police evidence photos per the Photo Log Sheet Supplement to the Evidence Report were, according to the photographer, taken at 2580 Rt 9W, you’d be off the hook! Case dismissed! This is just very sloppy, incompetent police investigation, and you should want no part in it!
But it gets worse, still! The Smalbany correspondent didn’t miss this point and pursued it in the interview with Chief Keyer.
Smalbany: Is this the entire photo log?
Keyer: Yes.
Smalbany: Would it be procedurally correct…that if two vehicles were involved in and accident that photos would be made of both vehicles?
Keyer: Perhaps.
Smalbany: If both vehicles were significantly damaged, would that still be a “Perhaps?”
Keyer: We went … above and beyond in this particular accident because…uh…well, obviously because theres a political official involved, and I want to make sure that any scrutiny upon the police department for not conducting a fair and impartial investigation would be squashed from the onset. So we took photos that we felt necessary to document the accident…Now I understand that the damage to Mr. McHugh’s truck I don’t think we captured on photo.
Smalbany: My question is, well, my statement is that I have only copies of photographs and photo log documenting damage to one vehicle and one vehicle only … the fact remains that photographs were made only of one of the vehicles and not of the other vehicle. I presume that the other vehicle was not available for photography…given your previous statements that such care and scrupulous attention was made to document this because of the sensitivity of the issues … So if the Vehicle 2, McHugh’s were removed from the scene prior to Mr. Seney’s arrival, then, of course, it would be impossible to make any evidentiary photographs in this situation. Would that be a correct assumption?
Keyer: Yes. That would be a correct assumption.
Well, Keyer previously admitted that he was personally at the scene and had direct knowledge of what transpired. So why did he let McHugh’s vehicle be removed so that no photos were taken, while photos were taken in evidence of the other vehicle?
All this was done on Chief Keyer’s watch and right under his nose! Keyer noted several times in the interview that he is “trained,” has more than 30 years in law enforcement, etc. so we would have to accept that there is no excuse for the sloppy police work. Keyer has to accept responsibility if we are to believe what he says at the end of the interview. According to Chief Keyer:
“The legacy of the [Coeymans] police department has been questionable…training is a big component…treating everyone fairly, investigating things that need to be investigated, and having the evidence that leads to a conclusion the evidence takes us to, where we need to go.
“Well, you know, I’m responsible for the department, and in that particular instance, and forgive my vulgarity, but ‘shit rolls uphill.’ So, if…my people are not doing things the right way, that falls on my shoulders. It’s my job to make sure they do it the right way.
“Yes. I think…I do not mind being held accountable by the public that we serve. I think that keeps us on our toes, it keeps us honest…uh…it’s the way it should be, I wish it worked be the same for politicians but it doesn’t quite.
(Coeymans PD Chief Douglas Keyer, Smalbany Interview, October 19, 2021)
Well, any clear and reasonably thinking person reading those words would have to think that there is some contradiction and inconsistency between what Keyer does and what he says. This is borne out in the statement made by the Smalbany interviewer in the segment above:
Smalbany: It’s important to have somebody with extensive experience, extensive integrity sitting in that Chief’s office, and we have not had it at some points. It makes a big difference. And somebody with the balls…the balls to stand up to the politicians upstairs, which is… walking the tightrope between integrity and budget.
It seems Chief Keyer made the decision in favor of the “politicians upstairs” and the “budget,” while leaving integrity and accountability in the dust.
NO WITNESSES WERE CANVASSED
The situation we have here is a two-car accident involving two parties, Vehicle 1 and Vehicle 2. Each party has his version of the facts, and they differ significantly. I such a situation, the investigator is presented with at least four options to choose from: (1) accept one party’s version of the facts while rejecting the other party’s version, (2) rely only on what is objective evidence, ignoring the inputs of the parties, or (3) ask witnesses what they saw or heard, or (4) consider the parties’ versions, the objective evidence collected at the scene, and witness statements, and then form an impartial factual opinion. . They did not interview any witnesses. In fact, one man who was on the scene stated, “The police weren’t interested in talking to me.” Why? Because they had already made their decisions as to the outcome.
All of the accident investigation guidelines we reviewed emphasized the importance of identifying witnesses, but Chief Keyer didn’t think witnesses were necessary — even though he did not observe the accident and arrived much later on the scene —, because he was “clear” how the accident happened. The Smalbany interviewer pursued this point by asking Chief Keyer directly about the lack of witness support.
Smalbany: It appears to me odd that nowhere in the comprehensive report that I have here…is there any mention of any interview requesting persons, who may have had…who might have served as eye-witnesses or who may have made a statement as to the circumstances of the accident.
Keyer: No. No, there were not.
Smalbany: My concern is that there were several witnesses to the accident, and none of these people claims to have been interviewed. We would assume that it would [be] reasonable to get different statements to determine the circumstances…that you would have seen to it that persons with knowledge…
Keyer: No. Perhaps it would have been, however, the way the accident was explained to us…
Smalbany: By whom?
Keyer: [B]oth subjects were interviewed. The accident scene obviously was documented and based on evidence at the scene, it was clear to me… In this particular instance the interview of witnesses would not, was not, necessary. It was clear, based on the evidence at the scene which vehicle was at fault in the accident…and how the accident occurred.
So Keyer states that both subjects were interviewed and witnesses were not necessary. Keyer wasn’t there when the accident occurred but he was clear how the accident occurred. Witnesses may have seen the actual accident in real time but, according to Keyer, their statements were not necessary, because Keyer was sure how the accident happened. We are not as convinced as Keyer appears to be.
It’s very comforting to know that we have a police chief in Coeymans who has paranormal, supernatural powers and is able to arrive late on an accident scene yet know exactly what had happened with such extraordinary clarity and assurance. Now doesn’t that give you a warm cuddly feeling of security?
If Keyer states that his people went “above and beyond in this particular accident because…uh…well, obviously because there’s a political official involved, and I want to make sure that any scrutiny upon the police department for not conducting a fair and impartial investigation would be squashed from the onset.” All we have to say is that his “above and beyond” was in the wrong direction because the fairness and impartiality of the Coeymans Police Department and Chief Keyer are under scrutiny and the investigation was not fair and impartial from the outset; in fact, it was quite the opposite.
Finding a Scapegoat, Framing and Defaming Him
In our opinion, even considering the conspiracy and political undercurrents adversely affecting this rather minor traffic accident, the accident itself being minor but the implications of the conduct of the Coeymans Police Department and the involvement of Town Supervisor George McHugh make the issues major, one of the most devastating and damaging outcomes of the inept investigation is the fact that given all else, the Coeymans Police Department took an additional step to damage the other party, L. Polyak.
Obstruction or Impairment of Justice
We are using a broad definition of this crime: Obstruction or impairment of justice means that a person who “corruptly … influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice”” is guilty of the crime of obstruction of justice. Two types of cases arise under the concept of obstruction of justice or the concealment, alteration, or destruction of documents; and the encouraging or rendering of false testimony. Actual obstruction is not needed as an element of proof to sustain a conviction. The defendant’s endeavor to obstruct justice is sufficient. “Endeavor” has been defined by the courts as an effort to accomplish the purpose the statute was enacted to prevent. The courts have consistently held that “endeavor” constitutes a lesser threshold of purposeful activity than a criminal “attempt.” Obstruction of justice, in the most general terms is the act of willfully interfering with the process of justice and law. This includes any act that involves influencing, threatening, harming, or impeding a potential witness, juror, legal officer, law enforcement or anybody otherwise involved in the administration of justice. As you may expect with such a broad definition, there are many types of misconduct and criminal activity that constitute an obstruction of justice, anybody can face these charges for alleged illegal acts when involved with law enforcement or criminal court proceedings.
How many forms of obstruction of justice can you identify in this accident investigation?
This was done by fraudulently creating a Police Request for Driver Review that was sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and in which two unsubstantiated and totally fabricated statements were included that were said to have been made by Mr. Polyak.
Smalbany: You know, it’s troubling that in one of these sets of documents I have a Police Agency Request for Driver Review signed by Arnold … Does this signatory have any medical qualifications?
Keyer: No. Those statements are based on discussion and statements made by Laszlo about his physical, his mental…er… his medical condition, where he was coming from.
Smalbany: I doubt very much that Mr. Laszlo would have stated that he was “medically incapable of maintaining control of the vehicle” nor that ”he was disoriented because of medications prescribed;” I’m reading directly from the agency request. There is no other signature appearing here. There is no urine, saliva, or blood tests indicated, so I’m just wondering how Arnold made these…and you say that these statements are taken from Mr. Laszlo…but I can’t see a party to an accident making statements like that, unless he was high on something, but you have no evidence of that, either.
Keyer: Correct.
Smalbany: What I am saying is this: This is very serious stuff because this was reported by a law enforcement officer requesting the Department of Motor Vehicles to examine this individual based on these statements. And that’s scary stuff because this can severely and adversely affect this individual’s driving privileges.
Keyer: The last thing I’m going to say on this topic is that that review was done, specifically made because of observations at the scene and statements made by Laszlo, and I’ll leave it at that.
Smalbany: OK. Which raises the question of… Why? is it stated in the Police Request for Driver Review that the licensee appears to be medically incapable of operating a vehicle and the licensee…
Keyer: There was no breathalyzer given to either party. There were standard field sobriety tests done with Mr. Laszlo, which is part of the investigation that goes in to determine whether a driver may be impaired. Based on that testing which was done by detective Senney, we determined that Laszlo did not show signs of impairment that would preclude him from driving.
Smalbany: And you said there was no chemical test, no chemical, no respiratory gases, no blood, no saliva …
Keyer: Correct. Because the standard field sobriety tests did determine that Mr. Laszlo was not impaired to the point where that would be necessary.
Again, it seems that the Coeymans Police are treating the parties differently, giving favorable treatment to the ‘Boss’ and prejudicial treatment to Mr Polyak. First of all, given McHugh’s alleged drinking habit and his constant companion, a can of Truly hard selzer, we feel it would have been good investigation procedure to routinely administer sobriety tests to BOTH parties; instead, and probably to appease McHugh, only Polyak was tested by Seney, even though he appeared and acted, for all intents and purposes, unimpaired! What’s even more suspicious is that no mention is made of the field sobriety testing nor of the fact that Polyak was found to be unimpaired!
So, we have to ask Why? was the Police Request for Driver Review submitted to the DMV, and Why? were such damaging and untrue statements made in that Request regarding Mr. Polyak’s condition, when Chief Keyer clearly admits that the tests administered by his detective Seney showed that Polyak was not impaired? No chemical tests at all were done. The Albany County Sheriff’s Department EMS personnel gave Polyak a clean bill of health after examining him at the scene.
The glaring fact remains that, although Det. Seney administered the field sobriety tests, and the Albany County Sheriff’s Department EMS personnel at the scene found Polyak to be unimpaired and completely OK, ‘no serious medications on board‘,’ absolutely no mention of this is made in the Police Accident Report. Now, don’t you find that to be a bit bizarre?
How can the Coeymans Police officer, Kelly A. Arnold, make such a stupidly ridiculous statement that Mr. Polyak said that he was “medically imcapable of maintaining control of the vehicle, due to pre existing medical condition,” and was “disoriented from medications prescribed?” Anyone would have to be totally insane to make such statements about himself after being involved in a traffic accident. But that’s what Arnold and Chief Keyer seem to want us to believe, even after both the Coeymans Police and the Sheriff’s EMS determined that Polyak was not impaired and that no further tests were required!
Editor’s Note: We must note that the allegation that Polyak was “drunk” or affected by medications or asleep are taken almost verbatim, word for word, from George McHugh’s statements made in the video of the Coeymans Town Board meeting of September 9, 2021, in which McHugh states, “He was asleep, and I guess he’s on some pretty serious medications, and was just coming back from UrgentCare” (Town of Coeymans Board Meeting of September 9, 2021, position 00:27–00:37). None of this was or is factually true according to our investigation, and was totally fabricated by McHugh, and accepted by the Coeymans Police Department in their Police Accident Report. Polyak denies making any of the statements included in the Police Request for Driver Review or in the so-called Supporting Deposition made by CPD Arnold.
By this point in the interview it was abundantly clear that Keyer was backpedalling at warp speed and that there was no useful purpose in continuing to confirm what was already conspicuous and obvious: The Coeymans Police Department did what it does best: They screwed up yet another investigation. As the Smalbany interviewer put it: “the guy who holds the purse strings calls the dance steps…the fish stinks from the head down.” McHugh and the Coeymans Town Board, packed with McHugh’s puppets hold the purse strings and called the dance steps in this investigation, and Chief Keyer and his Department danced to McHugh’s tune.
This sort of misconduct by a public elected official and by a chief law enforcement officer is absolutely unacceptable, and indicates a standard of conduct that falls far below what the public is justified in expecting of their elected public officials and law enforcement personnel. The conspicuously poor judgment shown by both Town Supervisor George McHugh and his Chief of Police, Douglas Keyer cannot be tolerated, particularly since both officials are entrusted with power and authority that requires honesty, integrity, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and crucially good judgment.
Given these horrible and damning facts as stated by no less than the Chief of Police, Douglas Keyer, and documented in the official documents relating to the subject accident, the Public must demand that both Town Supervisor George McHugh and Chief of Police Douglas Keyer resign immediately from their respective positions. The People of Coeymans cannot rely on the Coeymans Town Board to do what is ethical and lawful, because every member of that Board is deep in McHugh’s pockets. This may require concerted and sustained public effort to clean up the garbage in Coeymans Town Hall.
Editor’s Note: Why wasn’t the accident reported in the Ravena News Herald? An accident involving Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh in an election year certainly must be newsworthy. But it becomes clear if you know the history of the relationship between the Ravena News Herald and George McHugh. We have done a thorough search of the Ravena News Herald over a period of six weeks dating from September 2 to the present, and have not found a single word about the accident in that newspaper. It must be noted that George McHugh owned the Ravena News Herald prior to selling it to Mark Vinciguerra, who is a close friend of McHugh’s. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the Ravena News Herald was silent about McHugh’s involvement, particularly since McHugh is seeking another term as Supervisor in the November elections.
Interestingly but not surprisingly, a the Organizational Meeting of the Coeymans Town Board on January 1, 2021, the Ravena News Herald was designated the “official town newspaper.” We find it particularly questionable that a newspaper with such close ties to McHugh and with a paltry subscriber rate of about 1,500 subscribers or far less than 25% of the population of the Town of Coeymans should be designated the “official newspaper” for the Town. According to New York State Law, since the purpose of designating an official newspaper is to ensure that notices reach as many people within the town or village as possible (see Myers-Brooks Publishers v Board of Supervisors, 68 Misc 2d 1033, 328 NYS2d 741), the office of the NYS Comptroller has expressed the opinion that a town or village’s official newspaper must have a general circulation within the town or village (Opn No. 84-58, supra; Opn No. 82-173, supra; see also NY Const, article I, §11). Since the Ravena News Herald reaches less than 1 in 4 residents in the Town of Coeymans, it clearly does not reach a substantial number of persons in the Town, and cannot be considered to have a general circulation in the Town of Coeymans.
Postscript: Almost one month to the day, on October 7, 2021, George McHugh’s third and current wife, Rosemary McHugh, was involved in yet another two-car accident. McHugh was pulling out of a parking slot at the Ravena Stewarts Shop on US Rt 9W and, while backing out, she T-boned a vehicle operated by Kayleen Cique of Ravena, causing considerable damage to Cique’s vehicle. Cinque opted not to call the Coeymans Police and instead contacted the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, and one Deputy Houghtaling responded. No ticket was issued to McHugh. Kayleen Cique was not available for comment.
Notes:
[1] Douglas R. Keyer was hired in January 2021 to be Chief, Coeymans Police Department. Keyer retired from the New York State Police with the rank of major, a promotion received shortly before he retired, a common trick in state service to ensure maximum pension benefits. Keyer’s state pension is $108,924.00, exempt from New York State income tax, plus benefits. In addition to his pension benefits, Keyer, as Chief of Police, receives an annual salary of $65,000.00 plus benefits from the Town of Coeymans. Keyer’s wife, Bonnie Keyer, is employed by the Town of Coeymans as a Deputy Town Clerk with a salary of $37,380.00 plus benefits. It should be clear that the Keyers stand to risk a great deal, to the tune of more than $100,000/year if they don’t play their cards right and rub the Supervisor and Town Board the wrong way.
[2] Based on witness statements we have claimed that the “official” Coeymans Police Accident Report is phony, and that McHugh was exiting the Pickers Nation parking lot, is supported by the fact that in the video the audio of Rosemary McHugh discussing the “antiques parking lot” is suspiciously deleted! The video goes silent as soon as she starts talking and after she mentions the “antiques parking lot.” Now isn’t that convenient? The actual video can be accessed at https://ne-np.facebook.com/CoeymansNY/videos/150240583956353/, and the segment in which McHugh is discussing the accident goes from the beginning to about position 04:41. The video goes silent from position 02:13 to 04:20, with Rosemary McHugh mentioning the “antiques parking lot” at position 02:13, where the audio suspiciously goes out again.
[3] Text enclosed in quotation marks (“…”) are direct quotations taken from the interview.
[4] This is the term used by Chief Keyer in the course of the interview.
New Baltimore Town Supervisor, Jeffrey Russo, his deputy Supervisor, Nick Dellisanti, and the sitting members of the New Baltimore Town Board, Bill Boehlke, Chuck Irving, Kelly Downs , Shelly VanEtten all seem to talk out of both sides of their mouths. On the one hand they talk a lot about promotion of economic development and support for New Baltimore businesses, on the other hand they do just the opposite.
But conflicts of interest and turncoats appear to be the rule,
not the exception,
in the Town of Coeymans and the Town of New Baltimore.
Acting on a tip recemt;u received from a town resident (we won’t mention that the tip came from within the Town) we investigated to confirm that despite the fact that, after Robert Nolan and Nolan Propane together with Michael “Old-man Balls” Biscone (Ravena, NY), and a turncoat New Baltimore resident, Zachery M. Miller (Hannacroix, NY) sued the Town of New Baltimore, and the New Baltimore Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals in a frivolous nuisance lawsuit — because Nolan was pissed that New Baltimore heritage business, C.A. Albright & Sons, a business serving New Baltimore and surrounding communities for more that 100 years, was expanding to include propane gas supply and delivery in the area. That tip led us to New Baltimore Town Hall and a short walk to the rear of Town Hall, where we found a 500-gallon propane tank, on which was emblazoned – Guess what? – NOLAN PROPANE!!!
Nolan Propane Tank Cleverly Concealed. Located Behind New Baltimore Town Hall, Label Facing Away so It cannot be identified from building or from road.
The Town of New Baltimore Town Board and Supervisor Jeff Ruso have betrayed New Baltimore; Town Hall’s worthless statements and deceitful, empty promises of support for local businesses and development of commerce in the Town are proven by the fact that Town Hall remains a customer of Nolan Propane! Bad news for unelected Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso and for the current members of the Town Board. Think elections! (But then, recall that Jeff Ruso was NOT elected!)
The Town of New Baltimore, instead of ordering Nolan Propane to immediately remove his tank from Town of New Baltimore property, and instead of supporting a local business that has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in expanding their New Baltimore business, a business that has been paying New Baltimore taxes for over 100 years and now is further enriching the Town with even more taxes, New Baltimore Town Hall has slapped local business in the face and betrayed the business, residents, and taxpayers. (Yet sitting NB town board member Chuck Irving shows up on Albright’s doorstep begging for special consideration for the Town, like discounted pricing. New Baltimore Town Hall has turned into a house of prostitution, just like their friends in the Town of Coeymans, and the board members and supervisors of both towns are whores!)
It seems the Little Judas of New Baltimore, Zachery M. Miller, has some scaly cousins in the New Baltimore Supervisor’s Office and on the New Baltimore Town Board.
Not only that, we find that New Baltimore Town Hall is completely ignorant and indifferent to our report that Nolan Propane’s tanks are out-of-inspection and very possibly unsafe, and many are not installed according to safety regulations. We also noted that should there be a fire or other accident, homeowners would likely not be covered because of the lapsed certifications/inspections and the improper, unsafe installations!
Nolan Propane label on New Baltimore Town Hall Tank.
We called upon the Town of New Baltimore, the New Baltimore Code and Building Inspectors, and the Town of New Baltimore and Town of Coeymans Fire Districts and their Chiefs to do their jobs and ensure the fire safety of residents and their properties. Have they done their duty? NO!!!Yet another betrayal by your public officials!
The fact that Robert Nolan and Nolan Propane of Ravena, New York, had a money interest in defending his unethical and unfair practices in the Town of New Baltimore, might have been almost reasonable had he not chosen to pursue a sneaky and deceptive plan of action together with his dimwit puppet, Zachery M. Miller, and his incompetent and lying shyster lawyer, Michael “Old-man Balls” Biscone.
Zachery M. Miller (Hannacroix, NY) Little Judas of New Baltimore.
Since Little Judas Zachery Miller lost Nolan’s and Biscone’s lawsuit, they are now marked as greedy, unscrupulous LOSERS.
The fact that Robert Nolan and Nolan Propane chose to be cowards and hid hide behind their dimwit puppet, the Little Judas of New Baltimore, Zachery M. Miller, and the fact that the lying shyster representing Nolan and Miller, Michael “Old-man Balls” Biscone, while costing the Town of New Baltimore and an honorable and established business in the Town of New Baltimore tens of thousands of dollars to defend against a frivolous nuisance lawsuit, whose only purpose was to annoy and to harass, has cost Nolan, Biscone, and Miller to be shamed and tainted. Things will never be the same for any of them. Since Miller lost Nolan’s and Biscone’s lawsuit, they are now marked as greedy, unscrupulous LOSERS.
On a more positive note, we have received information that a local public utility in the Town of Coeymans (Albany County) has chosen C.A. Albright & Sons to provide their LPG delivery and service! Another public entity in the Town of Coeymans has expressed interest in having C.A. Albright & Sons provide their LPG supply and delivery. What does that tell you about Nolan & Son’s Propane (Ravena, Town of Coeymans)? Coeymans’ own Town Supervisor, George McHugh goes to court against them to defend the Town of New Baltimore, and Ravena-Coeymans’ own town/village public services are coming to C.A. Albright & Sons (Town of New Baltimore, Greene County) for their propane needs!!!
But conflicts of interest and turncoats appear to be the rule,
not the exception,
in the Town of Coeymans and the Town of New Baltimore.
His Bully Tactics Lost him Business and Tainted his Reputation. Lost His Lawsuit and is Now Shamed.
We have already commented on the conflict of interests and disloyalty of George McHugh, who was elected in 2019 in a thuglike campaign to be Town of Coeymans Supervisor. As Supervisor, he is the chief financial officer of the town and chair of the Coeymans Town Board — a town board populated by McHugh’s spineless puppets Daniel D. Baker,Linda S. Bruno, Zachary S. Collins,Brandon L. LeFevre –, all elected officials chosen by the residents, taxpayers, and business of the Town of Coeymans to defend their interests and to act in the best interests of the Town of Coeymans its residents and taxpayers. We noted not with any surprise that Robert Nolan of Nolan Propane is a sitting member of McHugh’s own hand-picked Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals! We commented that it was a very suspicious and unwise decision to hire McHugh to defend the Town of New Baltimore in a frivolous lawsuit brought against New Baltimore by Robert Nolan, Nolan Propane, and Michael “Old-man Balls” Biscone in their silly attempt to stymie C.A. Albright & Son’s legitimate expansion and entry into the propane gas supply business in New Baltimore. We were astonished but not surprised that the sitting supervisor of the Town of Coeymans, George McHugh, an unprincipled and greedy lawyer, would turn on his own town and a major business in his town, AND a member of his own corrupt town government to defend New Baltimore.
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How Time Flies When Your Screwing the People! And doing it for 100 years!
Albany’s Democratic Politics: A Machine that Keeps Cranking out the Same Old Business As Usual.
In 2021 Albany County Democratic Machine Will Celebrate 100 Years of Corruption. Now isn’t that something special? Only if you’re one of the bosses!
What the Riley Kern and Joshua Abood “Death Investigations” Teach Us About the Albany County Democratic Machine
Well, that appears to be the mantra, the cult chant of Albany County elected officials and employees. According to the Albany history posted on the Albany County Internet site, the County is apparently proud of it’s 100 years of corruption, because on that site we read:
In 1921, Democrat William S. Hackett defeated Republican William Van Rensselaer in the mayor race. This marked the rise of the famous Albany Democratic “machine” headed by Dan O’Connell; the city has remained a Democratic stronghold to this day.
The corruption is so deeply rooted residents take it for granted, and apparently live happily with the cronyism, nepotism, political patronage, crookedness, injustice, and general depravity of a system gone rotten.
While most Americans wander asleep dreaming of the myths and slogans fed to them by their political keepers, some few awaken to the harsh reality that this is not a country governed by the rule of law nor is it classless nor is it “of the people for the people, and by the people,” neither is it a leader, unless it’s the world leader in chaos and lawlessness and paranoia. You don’t have to go to Washington, D.C., nor do you have to read the misinformation and disinformation provided to the masses by politically polarized media, both local and national. All you have to do is take a hard close look at Albany County for a mini-version of the entire country.
The Hypocrisy & Glaring Lies of the Albany County Democratic Machine
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Are you nauseous yet? It’s that Albany County Democratic Committee desecration of the flag with lies like “Love Wins.” Or have you already puked your guts out? Sorry, but that’s exactly what these political slogans cause in any reasonably thinking, awake human being to react, anyone who is familiar with what’s going on in Albany County has to start gagging. Anyone who swallows that political poison deserves to swallow their own vomit!
Whole families are reacting to the Albany County Democratic Committee’s Message.
The Hypocrisy & Glaring Lies of the Albany County Democratic Machine
All people are equal – That’s why certain people are better than others in Albany County. All people are equal until it comes to services. But what’s important to the Albany County Democratic Machine is that all people are equal to one vote, even if you’re dead (If you take into consideration how the Albany County Coroners work and how Bernard T. Ng determines a cause of death, it would take some time for you to realize you’re actually dead. You’ll know after Election Day, after they count the absentee ballots. How many voters gave their address as Albany Rural Cemetery?)
Love wins – Albany County makes “love” sound like a four-letter word. Maybe at Albany County Office parties but not when it comes to citizens. Albany County Dems LOVE to win, love to rule, love to control! So, when a prostitute tells you s/he loves you, you of course believe her, don’t you?
Black lives matter – This is how they get the Black vote; pull out the Soul Train ticket, and ride the Soul Train to the polls! Listen, dumbasses, ALL LIVES MATTER!!! Every life under the sun matters. But if you play the race ticket, some lives matter more. Hello! White Lives! Blue Lives! Old Lives! Young Lives! Stop the bullshit pandering to Blacks!Let them grow up and act like adults, and then their lives will matter to them, and to everyone else! Our mealy mouthed pabulum puking slogan slinging snake-oil salesmen have purchased black votes real cheap. Just sling a slogan and the Black vote is yours. Could it get any easier?
They can say anything, use any word, any slogan. If you’re not Black, you get to keep silent. Buying the Black vote. While voices matter! So do white votes.
Immigrants & refugees are welcome – There’s that buy a minority vote with a slogan, again. So far, “Black lives matter” will get you the Black dumbasses to vote for the Machine, now they go after the Immigrants and Refugees, Hispanics and others. OK. Here’s the Albany County Machine deal: We’ll make Albany a sanctuary city, draw all the illegals, and then they’ll owe us. But then there’s the law: If you want to enter and remain in this county do so according to our laws. Agree. Otherwise, you’re out! No free lunch! No exceptions. But the Machine has the perfect solution: Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares, he’ll pick and choose how to enforce the law; he’ll pick and choose whom to prosecute; he’ll frustrate law-enforcement until they do his bidding.
Sí! Sí! Sancuary Sítee!
Soares and the Machine will reduce law enforcement in Albany and Albany County to a silly, asinine, impotent stereotype.
Disabilities are respected – Is that why our veterans are given lip service and not much more? Is that why we look the other way when we see a disabled person or a homeless person? Poverty is as much a disability as leglessness. Albany County loves disabilities, especially mental ones; easier to control the stupid ones. Crack baby? Alcoholic mother? Dems will take care of you and your mom’s drug habit. If you lose a leg or an arm in one of the corporations’ wars, forgetaboutit! Get a job or a paper cup, you’ll need it. Not much left for veterans or the working poor once the Dems in Albany hand out everything to the rioting Blacks, the illegal immigrants, and pay their puppets’ pensions.
Women are in charge of their bodies – The mothers in the group will love this one! Translation: If you are irresponsible, of-color, a whore or a slut, and you refuse to use contraceptive while plying your trade, or too drunk to realize what or who you’re doing, Dems will fund your abortion, crush your baby’s skull, suck your baby’s brain out, and put you back on the street in 24 hours. Ask Albany Democrats. The Machine works for you. Forget t if you respect your body, and respect the life you might carry. If you’re a woman who takes responsibility and acts responsibly and not like dogs in heat, Sure! they’re in charge. Otherwise, someone else has to be in charge. What’s this crapola anyway? We’re all in charge of our bodies! Dems love to make gender an issue; weak minds can also vote. And some readers will know exactly which demographic were talking about.
Women are in charge in the Albany County Democratic Machine.
People and planet are valued over profit – Really? Is that the message they sent in the Riley Kern case? How about the Joshua Aboood case? OK, tell us more about this little nugget, we’re all ears. Give me a break! Get real! Albany County is one of the biggest greed, thievery, corruption games around. People are used and abused! Is that why the run for office? The love people, Blacks, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, diversity? Gee, if that’s true, they hate capitalism, condemn greed, want to stop economic growth! Hmmm. Where have I been…?
Diversity is celebrated – OK. We know where this one is going. So far they’ve hit on Blacks, immigrants, refugess, women, the disabled, now they’re going after the LGBT group. It’s one big Love Fest; one big “Whatever-you-are, we’ll-celebrate-you, just feed the Machine!” Only if it means votes. The Democraps in Albany will celebrate anything if it keeps them in office and in power. Well, they’ll celebrate diversity until the morning after Election Day; then they celebrate having duped voters again!
Yeah! It’s indistinct chatter, and they love diversity. You’d better like the back door, too.
The Albany County Democratic Committee chose ACDC as their acronym. But doesn’t ACDC mean going both ways? Isn’t ACDC alternating current? But don’t we call that waffling? It’s just inconsistent and unbelievable when somebody can look you in the face and say black is white and white is black?
Well, that’s how the Albany County Machine and all of its parts work. They tell you one thing, do another, and expect you to stand there and say, “Oh, yeah! You’re doing really good! I believe every lie you’re telling me! Thank you, sir! Thank you, ma’m!” It’s like they’re telling you, “You look stupid so I can tell you anything!”NOT! Big Mistake!
Time to Name and Shame
We’ve been looking at the Albany Democratic Machine in Albany New York, a county-wide political machine that specializes in corruption, abuse, pandering to ignorant or vulnerable groups for votes, cronyism, nepotism, political patronage. Basically a machine that keeps pumping out corruption and more corruption at the expense of taxpayers, human dignity, law and order, and self-respect. It’s a group of bosses and their puppets who have been using and abusing Albany County for generations, almost 100 years, to be exact.
Key Figures Who Illustrate Political Dysfunction in the Albany County Democratic Machine. Shame on them!
County Executive Daniel P. McCoy
Albany County Court Judge Andra L. Ackerman
Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares
Albany County Legislatureas a group, but especially Andrew Joyce, chairman and Wanda Wittingham, cochair.
Albany County Sheriff, Craig D. Apple
John T. McDonald III, NYS Assemblyman 108th (Cohoes)
NYS Police Investigator Thomas L. Burns
Albany County Coroners Lotterle, Cavanaugh, Marra, Keegan, Sturges
Albany County Coroner’s Physician, Bernard T. Ng
Albany Medical Center, Albany
Ellis Hospital, Schenectady
Matilda Cuomo, mother of NYS governor Andrew “Give-it-Away” Cuomo
(This list will be expanded. Stay tuned.)
One of the worst offenders in Albany County is Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares. He’s used his office to pander to people-of-color, he’s used his office to persecute and selectively prosecute, depending on the whims of his keepers, he’s misused and abused his office as the County’s chief law-enforcement officer to foster mistrust of law and loss of confidence in law enforcement. He’s got to go!
The machine has spoken! In July, the Democratic Machine held a primary to decide who would be on the Dem ticket for DA in November. Matthew “Matt” Toporowski, a 34-year-old private attorney and former prosecutor for Soares — what stories could he share, we wonder —, conceded to Soares after absentee ballots (How many were cast by residents of local cemeteries?) conceded the primary to Soares. Monday, the Times Union reported that Soares’ election lawyer, James Long, said “for all intents and purposes, it is over.” But it’s not all over until the fat lady sings, Davey Boy!
Matt Toporowski’s campaign opposing Soares was actually backed by Albany Mayor, the Honorable Mayor Kathy Sheehan and national celebrities. There’s no winning in Albany County unless the bosses and the Machine are backing you! That’s gotta stop! NOW!
According to a report appearing in the Albany Times Union (July 7, 2020):
Toporowski was supported by some of the city’s top Black leaders, including activist Barbara Smith and Albany County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin, as well as Sheehan and some top national figures, such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and musician John Legend. Toporowski had the support of the county’s Working Families Party, which strongly backed Soares in 2004, when Soares challenged incumbent Paul Clyne and won.
Even the Working Families Party shunned Soares this time, So how does a professional like Toporowski with that kind of backing lose to an incumbent hypocrite and racist like Soares?
The next time you sit watching and smiling as your little boy or girl sits playing with the new toy, or you’re cheering for your strong, young son on the ball field, or you look in on your child before going to bed, and you feel those special feelings welling up inside you that only the one who created that new life can have. Now think of the toy with no one to share it, the empty space on the players bench, the empty bed, the mother’s day or father’s day card you’ll never get. Do we have your attention now?
Emily Kern, Riley’s mom, and Michele Campione, Joshua’s mom, have a message for our Readers. Here’s their letter, a plea from two mothers who have to live with the loss of their sons, every day living the pain, the doubt, the loss, and much, so much more.
Remembering when…
Dear Readers:
This is a long overdue, much needed and well deserved statement that I should’ve written long before now.
Since my son Joshua’s death on June 9, 2020, at Peebles Island State Park in Cohoes, I have learned a tough lesson: Grief does weird things to people who lose loved ones but losing your child, your son, is such a heart-wrenching pain there are no words that I have that can describe it.
In the 80s, when I was growing up in the Albany area, we were always taught to respect and sometimes, to fear law enforcement. We learned that the police had and held the power to treat people any way they chose. They could lie, they could cherry pick who gets away with things, who would get justice, who wouldn’t, who would get held accountable for wrong doings involving breaking/violating laws and who would go Scot free. It was always about who you were and who you knew. The poor, broken and less educated about their rights and the laws were always left at the bottom of the list. It’s sad, but most people didn’t, and still don’t know their rights. You would think after all these years our justice system, which was is put in place and should be available to serve and protect the people would’ve made great strides, and that the nepotism would have diminished at least to SOME EXTENT. But it’s only gotten worse.
Most people still fear even questioning law enforcement, much less call them out for their wrongdoings, lies, or even to point out mistakes. When it comes to blatant disregard, negligence, misconduct, abuse of power, lack of integrity and professionalism, Who is there for the people of Albany county? Who can you go to for help? As citizens, the same people who either voted for these officials and pay their salaries and, as human beings who have rights under the same moral and Constitutional laws that they as public servants swore upon solemn oath to uphold.. Who is there to protect us? Who do we go to when we are treated unjustly and unfairly, or with abusive indifference? Who is there to hold these county officials accountable?
As two mothers who just lost their young, promising, healthy sons, both Emily Kern (Riley Kern’s mother) and I found out the hard way.. NO ONE!
Emily and I both came forward and questioned the circumstances involving our sons’ deaths, the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the hasty and careless investigations, the incompetent and misleading rulings by the coroners, and causes of our sons deaths determined by an uncertified pathologist. The “ongoing investigations” into their deaths that provide no answers, no closure, and then get quietly closed. And there’s so much more to be told.
Both Riley Kerns mother, Emily, and I wrote pleading to Albany County officials, Senators, Assemblymen, Judges, the DA, and all local media. We were lucky to get a canned response, if any at all. Do you know how discouraging that is? Do you know how it feels to be treated as if you’re invisible, a nothing?
You start to feel despair, you feel defeated and the thoughts of stopping your fight cross your mind all the time. It would be easier just to curl up in a ball and give up.
This could happen to ANY ONE of you, your loved ones and/or even you, yourself, so don’t sit there thinking you’re not vulnerable. We thought we’d always have our sons but we learned the hard way.
This is not just a fluke, something rare that happens once every ice age, and to only 2 mothers whose sons died tragically for no good reason, for no important cause. They died suspiciously!
These are frightening issues that need to be addressed and resolved so they aren’t brushed over and ignored for tomorrow or in months or years to come. The possibility of something like this happening to you — or it has already happened to you, and you were lost as to what to do — should be frightening, astonishing and very, very real; it’s not just a possibility, it’s likely to happen
The only people that were willing and able to immediately help both Emily Kern and myself were the Editor and bloggers here on this SMALBANY site. Immediately, they sprung into action. They made it clear from the very beginning that they will not publish hearsay. They firmly stated that I had to provide FACTS AND PROOF OF THESE FACTS. The SMALBANY Editor and bloggers are well educated, diligent, and extremely thorough, and provided both Riley Kern’s mother Emily and me, Joshua Abood’s mother, with the guidance and knowledge about our rights. Sadly and thankfully they have conducted more of an investigation in both of our son’s deaths than ANY AND ALL “trusted” elected county officials, so-called public servants, and law enforcement.
They have not only been the Guardian Angels in Albany County against corruption and darkness. they have been the ONLY ones to put time and effort into all aspects surrounding our two sons’ untimely deaths and the circumstances, including all aspects of the so-called “ongoing investigations” that are going on in somebody’s inbox.
What happens when we lose our loved one’s and realize “facts” just aren’t adding up from the information provided by the officials in whom we place our trust and even our very lives, on whom we relied for their knowledge and training and expertise? We get nothing short of indifference, negligence, and sometimes even abuse. What do you do when there is no one willing to help you? (I pray this never happens to you). When you are treated like you are invisible and made to feel like your son or loved one’s death meant nothing; when he’s treated just like so much road kill?
Why wait until you, your children, your grandchildren or ANY family member has to endure the unbearable pain and suffering that penetrates your very heart and soul, numbing you, avoidable suffering that is caused by the long standing corruption in Albany County and the self-serving elected officials, public self-servants, and lazy law-enforcement
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WE AS PARENTS, MOTHERS, FATHERS, GRANDPARENTS, BROTHERS, SISTERS, FRIENDS NEED TO STAND UP FOR OURSELVES AND EACH OTHER! We need to educate ourselves and our loved ones on what we are entitled to, deserve and what our rights are as citizens of not only Albany County, but as citizens of the United States. Where is our greatness when we act like frightened chickens? We need to show support by subscribing (FOR FREE), following and sharing this site, whose only goal is to help us and bring hope to the hopeless.
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I on behalf of myself, my family, Joshua’s loved ones and friends, and my deceased son, Joshua, or at least in his memory, want to personally thank the EDITOR and bloggers here at SMALBANY for all of their hard work, time, effort and compassion. Since my son was killed or died — no one is quite sure which — I have not even briefly encountered the genuineness that SMALBANY has shown not only in my son’s case and in Riley’s, but also in so many others as well. The simple fact that their goal has always been to educate and restore hope in people like myself, who have fallen victim to our damaged and corrupt system, all for FREE with no ulterior motives, give me strength and hope.
We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re not asking for something you can’t give. We’re just asking you to show some compassion and do what’s right. We raised our sons to be good human beings, good men. Our sons deserve better than being treated like a case number.
As Joshua’s mother and someone who almost gave up several times, and was thrown a life line by people with sincerity, values, and a mission, I am eternally grateful, and I want you to know that I wouldn’t have been able to come this far without your help as readers and subscribers, as followers of this site.
[Editor’s Note: Michele and Emily have graciously consented to allow us to publish their contact emails, should any of our readers like to contact them privately. Just click the links above.]
Bernard T. Ng, MD, and the Albany County Coroners, are just the tip of the corruption iceberg. The problem is a worse pandemic can CoVid-19, and probably more real, affecting far more people, both dead and alive. It boils down to a question of people not doing what they’re supposed to do, not doing their job, not doing what they’re being paid for, and getting away with it while elected officials OK it.
Even more importantly, it’s a question of people like Bernard T. Ng, MD, Albany County Coroners Antonio Sturges, John Keegan, Timothy Cavanaugh, Paul Mara, and Greene, Columbia and other county coroners, the county District Attorneys like David Soares, the County Executives and Councils, the County Legislatures, the New York State Health Department, even the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, every level where deaths are reported, investigated, and certified.
It’s not just about the two scandalous and incompetent responses to and investigations of the deaths of two young men that we have been asked by their families to investigate. Riley Kern and Joshua Abood, too, are just the tips of a huge iceberg of incompetently reported, investigated, and certified deaths numbering possibly in the thousands in Albany County alone!
Perhaps you’re not the emotional, warm-hearted type who is really interested in the dignity and respectful handling of grandma’s death, after all, she was “old” and was going to die anyway — as if your son or daughter, husband or wife, or you weren’t going to have to grin back at the Grim Reaper some day. Perhaps you aren’t the type to feel the call of social justice or accountability in the professions or in public servants. Maybe you’re just a cold-hearted bastard, who is interested only in the insurance money or the death benefits, or in the estate. If you are that cold-hearted bastard, just imagine the scenario when the insurance company, or Social Security, or probate court starts looking more closely at the death certificate and find it bogus or not valid! What then, after you took the cheapie way out, trying to hoard as much money as possible, and had the body cremated and there’s nothing left to investigate. What then, when the cause of death is questioned? Wouldn’t you have liked to have been able to trust the autopsy report or the death certificate as being properly done, the death properly and thoroughly investigated, the information being correct, your interests as a survivor safeguarded and assured? Of course you do!
Well, you may be in trouble if Bernard T. Ng’s autopsy is questioned or if the Death Certificate prepared by one of the Albany County Coroners is questioned. Ng’s autopsy reports, even if they were done according to professional standards, but they are not, apparently are not considered in the Albany County Coroners’ certifications.
Albany County must hold the world record for deaths whose primary cause is cardiopulmonary arrest, an ambiguous term that most accurately translates to “heart attack.” But it’s quick, easy, gets under the radar, closes the case, and any idiot can use it, even an idiot elected to be an Albany County Coroner or appointed to be a coroner by the Albany County Legislature.
Ellis Hospital, Schenectady, in a Storm?
It’s a sick community we live in, and you really don’t want to die here.
Problems at the Albany County Coroners Office?
We’ve done the research and we’ve reported our findings to the authorities with the responsibility to the public to investigate the situation. Here are just a few of the agencies we’ve contacted to report our findings and refer them to the relevant articles for more information:
The New York State Police, Troop G, and State Headquarters (Troop G, gpio@troopers.ny.gov, Public Information Officer, PIO@troopers.ny.gov). NYSP Investigator Thomas Burns
Albany County DA David Soares (his office is a regular reader of the Smalbany Blogs)
And many others, too numerous to mention, including dozens of information requests.
Editor’s Note: An autopsy done at Ellis Hospital by Bernard T. Ng costs the County about $1000. If the autopsy is done by our “friends” at Albany Medical Center, it can cost twice that, or more than $2,000! Shouldn’t that taxpayer money be spent more wisely than on botched autopsies and incorrect death certifications.
In Albany County the four elected part-time coroners Timothy J. Cavanaugh, John G. Keegan, Paul L. Marra, III, and Antonio Sturges each receive $22,443.00 annual compensation plus benefits. The total budget for the Albany County Coroners Office in 2020 was $1,029,224.00, of which $445,000 was for laboratory fees and services and $205,000 was for medical services. Money well-spent? Not according to our analysis and investigations!
There is no reasonable explanation for these lapses, the irresponsibility, the misrepresentation, the incompetence! The public health authorities from the New York State Department of Health, professional organizations like the National Association of Medical Examinersand the American Board of Pathology, national agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and theNational Center for Health Statistics, international organizations such as World Health Organization, publisher of the International Classification of Disease reference manuals, used by the CDC and other major public health agencies, numerous medicolegal, forensics, pathology journals and reference works, all available and accessible to pubic health agencies like the Coroners Office, medicolegal and forensic investigators, need to be standard reading for these incompetents, but it’s easier to ignore their responsibilities and to deceive the public, while ruining the reliability of public health and vital statistics at the state and national, even international level.
This isn’t Yemen or Afghanistan, people, this is New York State, the United States of America! We claim to be the best, to have the best. It’s a myth, a lie, judging from what we have found in Albany County, NY! Don’t we deserve better than deception, incompetence, lies? Don’t our dead deserve better than deception, incompetence, lies?
Joshua proudly showing his skydiving certificate.
Neither Reily Kern’sCause of Death nor Joshua Abood’sCause of Death was “cardiopulmonary arrest.” The autopsy reports are a sham and the deaths were hastily and prematurely certified, even before the autopsy reports were available. At least in these two cases, the autopsy and the death certificates deserve to be thoroughly investigated by independent authorities, and the deaths re-certified to reflect and report the correct information.
We would go even further and demand that ALL autopsies done by Bernard T. Ng, MD, or any other coroner’s pathologist who is not properly board-certified in forensic pathology, and ALL deaths certified by the Albany County Coroners be thoroughly investigated and, if necessary, recertified.
In closing this section and moving on to our semi-final report on Bernard T. Ng, and his statements on the autopsy of Joshua Abood, we’d like to inform our readers that most, if not all, of the scientific, forensic, and medical journals and references consider “drowning” to be a process, not a cause of death. “Drowning” as a cause of death is incorrect whether it appears on an autopsy report or on a death certificate. Drowning is defined as “asphyxiation due to submersion [or immersion] in a fluid,” any fluid, and involves a complex cascade of physiological events leading to death. Even if drowning were listed as a circumstance of the incident, it is not the cause of death.
Riley enjoying life with family.
The CDC has published a great deal of information on how death certificates should be completed using an accurate International Classification of Disease (ICD) code and description for the Immediate Cause of Death and for the Underlying Cause(s) of Death that can be used not only nationally by the National Center for Health Statistics but compared internationally with reports of deaths for research purposes and for developing public health programs. There are lists for causes of death only that can be used to standardize and simplify accurately reporting deaths and certifying deaths. Our question is: Why are these not being used by the coroner’s pathologist, death investigators, or the Coroners Office? Wouldn’t it be easier to enter the ICD code W65-W74 accidental drowning and submersion (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/icd/icd10.htm) case than the incorrect and idiotic causes as “cardiopulmonary arrest,” “drowning,” “fall into water,” “intoxication” (Intoxication with what? Cobra venom, heroin, sleeping pills, propane gas, alcohol (methyl, isopropyl, ethanol, etc.???). Garbage! Rubbish! Ignorance!!!
Furthermore, Bernard T. Ng, MD, claims to be a board-certified pathologist in the specialty of anatomical/clinical pathology, and that his autopsies and his autopsy reports comply with accepted standards of practice for autopsies and autopsy reports. We disagree! And we disagree based on the very standards that Ng claims he observes in his practice. Mind you, we are not even considering the rigid standards of the forensic autopsy, which Ng is not certified to perform.
We have thoroughly reviewed at least two digital conversations made by Bernie Ng or the Albany County Coroner John Keegan, and have reported on them in previous segments of this series. Here are some excerpts that really caused us to gag:
The first is Ng’s statement on how he takes notes during an autopsy. He lists the presence of an autopsy assistant/technician, James Schaeffer, on both of the autopsy reports, so there’s really no excuse for Ng’s statement on how he takes notes for preparation of an autopsy report. Here’s how Ng responds to a question by a next-of-kin:
NOK: Where are the measurements of depth, the length, etc. I don’t see in the autopsy report. Are there any other notes?
BNg: No. Those are…[be]cause I tend to just jot down, the only way, and… on a dirty piece of, a bloody piece of paper, it does get bloody, and then I translate, jot it down for the report.
Nice, accurate, professional, reliable. He just jots it down on a bloody piece of paper and then translates it for the autopsy report. The ABP and professional pathologists should have some fun with that one! Rather than jotting notes down on a bloody piece of paper, Why doesn’t Mr. Schaeffer take the notes as dictated by Ng? Why doesn’t Ng have a voice recorder for dictating his notes as he progresses in the autopsy? Is Ellis Hospital/Ellis Medicine too cheap to equip the autopsy room with a sound recording system? This is totally unacceptable by any fourth world standard! How can that be acceptable in New York State, in the United States, in a hospital serving the public, Ellis Hospital? It’s not acceptable; it’s criminal.
Normally, anyone can reasonably expect that if there are wounds on a body that goes to autopsy because of suspicious circumstances, that at least some of the wounds would be accurately described, some of them measured, even probed for foreign material to identify where the wounds occurred, and this information would appear on the autopsy report. No, wrong again. Not when Bernard T. Ng does the autopsy. There are nomeasurements or descriptions, only silly excuses. Failure to interpret any unnatural marks or wounds on the body is a grossly negligent and unprofessional circumstance that should subject Ng to investigation and censure not only by the American Board of Pathology, but by the New York State licensing authority, the Department of Education, and Ellis Hospital should be held accountable for putting him in the position he holds at the Hospital. We feel such errors and omissions are tantamount to malpractice, at least, and should be prosecuted.
Who’s to blame? Bernard Ng or the Albany County Coroners?
KOK: Why they were not individually described?
BNg: Why were they not individually described? Because it was patch. It was an abrasion over a patch; it was not a particular, identifiable mark. OK? So When we start doing individual measurement and description of injury it is usually very distinct, discrete injury that points to a particular type of instrument. For example, a cut, a laceration. Those will be [inaudible] and measured. A bullet wound…would [interruption]…Again, it’s a matter of experience that we can recognize…the mark doesn’t match the hypothesis.
We discussed the Albany County Coroners incompetence and ignorance above but in all fairness, we have to say that three of the four coroners are funeral directors with no medical training, and one, Antonio Sturges runs a diabetic supplies business, and also has some funeral home experience. But when it comes to a physician licensed to practice medicine in New York State, a physician employed by a major area Hospital, a physician who runs a business providing medical pathology services, and a man who claim to be “double-boarded,” that is, board-certified in anatomic/clinical pathology by the American Board of Pathology, does not properly record the immediate cause and underlying causes of death according to the standards for autopsy reports, and further, stumbles trying to explain a death certificate, we have to really wonder how deeply the incompetence and corruption goes in the Capital Region of New York State. We know, and will report on the connections we found in the Riley Kern and Joshua Abood cases, but first, Bernard Ng’s take on death certification:
NOK: [Referring to the Death Certificate] Let’s move down to, let’s start to answer some of the questions on here…If you go down to…let’s see…ummm
The Death Section, parts A, B, and C, which gives the Cause of Death as “cardiopulmonary arrest,” as a consequence of drowning, as a consequence of fall into water as a consequence of intoxication. Can you explain that?
BNg: That is the death certificate, the mechanism of death, is a sequence of events. OK. So we are asked to put down what are the sequences…
NOK: You are asked by who[m]? You’re asked by who[m] to put it down?
BNg: That is how the form is constructed. That is how the death certificate is. OK? As opposed to the autopsy report; the autopsy report does not always mirror that, because sometimes the autopsy report gives a little bit more of a…uhh…room to describe what happened. So, under the death certification because it is in a form, we are limited by how much we can put in there. So, it’s really kind of truncated but if you compare it to…the autopsy report, it gives a little bit more detail. OK. It gives a detail as to explain.
NOK: Our autopsy report didn’t give much detail at all, so I’d have to disagree with you there.
We can confirm that the autopsy reports in both the Riley Kern and the Joshua Abood cases are inconsistent, deficient, ambiguous, and certainly do not “mirror” the death certificates. In fact, if we didn’t know they were the same cases, we’d think that the death certificates and the autopsy reports were for totally different cases. That’s a BIG problem.
Ng continues to ramble on and on, babbling, and grasping at straws to save his butt. He’s already “dead in the water,” if you’ll pardon the pun.
BNg: No. The autopsy report, you know…uhhh…uhh…can address certain things…ummm…you know, sometimes it matches right up. You know. For example, a gunshot wound to the head is a gunshot wound to the head. So…a gunshot wound to the head, massive head trauma. So in this case, the finding is that he was incapacitated, the toxicology showed that he is at an intoxication level beyond legal, well beyond, several times beyond legal limits…[interruption]…but alcohol, even to an alcoholic that has a tremendous amount of tolerance, that will still have an absolute neurologic effect on the body…[Ng states several effects of alcohol]…all of these, and it’s well documented, will increase an individual’s likelihood of drowning if they get into the water.
Ng continues but gets off track, and no longer addresses the question of the death certificate. But we also have to note that Ng is making a lot of statements for which he has not a shred of evidence. This unwarranted and unprofessional speculation occurs at a number of places in this one conversation, which further supports our doubts about Ng’s competence. Ng has no evidence to show that the victim was “incapacitated,” even if his blood alcohol was above legal limits. What do the legal limits have to do with a suspected drowning? He wasn’t operating a motorized boat! He wasn’t driving down Peeble’s Island expressway! Besides, the blood alcohol concentration was determined using a sample taken from the heart, which is reported in the forensic literature to be a site that provides unreliable results for BAC (blood alcohol concentration); the recommended site is the femoral vein!Doesn’t Ng know this?Besides, the victim was not an alcohol-virgin, so he had a tolerance for alcohol; alcohol would probably not have had the same effect on him as on someone who only occasionally drinks. He might even have been a “sloppy drunk” but certainly not as sloppy drunk as our Editor [Oops! Did we write that?] would be or someone who doesn’t drink at all! But Ng doesn’t know this and can only guess; his statement can be made only after “translating” his “sloppy” notes made on a “bloody piece of paper,” and only after the toxicology results are reported by an outside lab in Pennsylvania using the non-standard specimen sent for testing. We also don’t know some critical information about the specimen such as, how it was collected, in what, under what conditions, and how it was prepared and shipped. Very sloppy. Very sloppy pathology work, indeed.[1]
NOK: Was he alive when he entered the water? Or was he dead when he hit the water?
BNg: He was alive…He is definitely alive…and the reason I know that he was definitely alive was that there’s a large amount of congestion and edema in his lung. That means that during that time he was…he might have aspirated a small amount of water but not to the extent of inhaling a lot of water. That points…that indicates that he had a laryngospasm, which is very common…I’ve done many…many examinations of many drownings, and most people actually have not that much water in their lung. There is fluid in the lung — the investigator is correct — at the time of autopsy there was fluid in the lung but that fluid appears to be…[interruption…]
NOK: Edema. I know. I read the Autopsy Report. I saw that.
BNg: So that is not an inconsistency between what the investigator told you and what the autopsy report show.
We have to take issue with Ng’s description and his statement that the investigator’s statement was not inconsistent with the autopsy report. Was it water or edema, Bernie? The investigator, Burns, repeatedly said there was water in the lungs. He also said the the body floated because the lungs were full of air! Do we want to rely on NYSP Investigator Burns‘ statements. We think NOT! NYSP Investigator Burns also suggested that Joshua had a heart problem, probably based on what coroner Antonio Sturges called “cardiopulmonary arrest” in the Death Certificate. Dumbasses! One or the other, or both? You don’t say in the autopsy report, and yet you seem to agree with the non-medical opinion of the law-enforcement investigator.
Furthermore, if Ng doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and we get that impression from his discussion of both Riley Kern’s case and Joshua Abood’s case, it really makes no difference to the objective investigator (US!) whether Ng has done “many examinations of many drownings,” at all, because if he did those examinations like he did Joshua Abood’s, they were all incompetent: he would have applied the same misguided, incompetent practices in all those cases, too!
From a careful review and examination of the available documents, various statements made by an Albany County Coroner and coroner’s pathologist (not a forensic pathologist) Bernard T. Ng, MD, and a thorough review of the scientific literature and government guidelines, the only reasonable conclusions that can be drawn are:
The Albany County Coroners have no clue how to certify a death, and
Coroner’s pathologist Bernard T. Ng (Ellis Hospital, Schenectady, and Schenectady Pathology Associates, P.C.), who is not a forensic pathologist, does has no clue how to do a forensic autopsy or forensic investigation.
We further conclude that the Albany County Coroners are civilly if not criminally incompetent, and have caused severe, irreparable damage to the public health system through incompetent certifications of deaths in their jurisdiction.
Furthermore, we charge Bernard T. Ng, MD, with overreaching his professional qualifications, misrepresenting his professional qualifications, violating the terms of his certification in anatomic/clinical pathology by the American Board of Pathology, and is consequently liable to civil, criminal, and professional disciplinary actions by the New York State Department of Education, Professional Misconduct Enforcement, the American Board of Pathology, and to civil suit or criminal prosecution. Bernard T. Ng’s unlawful practice of forensic pathology without board-certification or the required specialist training has compromised the death reporting and certification system
Our next segments will examine the relationships between and among the various elected officials, the public servants, the public services involved, and how that corruption and incompetence is fed and cultivated in the Albany Democratic Machine, where corruption and cronyism, and political patronage rules supreme. We’ll be revisiting Albany County Court Judge Andra Ackerman (D), New York State Assemblyman John T. McDonald III (D), New York State Police Investigator Thomas Burns, the City of Cohoes (D), Cohoes Police Department — in all fairness, Chief Todd Wardin has been trying very hard to help —, County Coroners Antonio Sturges (D) and John Keegan (D), Bernard T. Ng, MD, Ellis Hospital/Ellis Medicine, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy (D), and the operations of the Albany County Legislature under the chairmanship of Andrew Joyce (D) and co-chair Wanda Willingham (D), and we’ll look at a number of minor-league players involved. Stay tuned!
[1] The victims BAC was in fact 206 mg/dL which means it was about 2x the “legal limit,” which doesn’t say very much in terms of forensic death investigation because a legal limit is the limit used by law enforcement as a reference for writing tickets, not by scientific medicolegal death investigators as a reference for determining cause of death or the circumstances leading to the cause of death (the “manner of death”).
The **it’s hit the fan, dudes!
Our next Segment will discuss the Albany County Democratic Machine and how it creates, feeds, and continues the corruption in Albany County, NY, and affects the surrounding regions.
Notes:
Payne-James, Jason, and Roger W. Byard. Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine. Elsevier, (2016). Print.
Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting. Hyattsville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2003. Print.
We had planned to publish our segment on how political corruption and the Albany Democratic Machine and control by the Democratic party in Albany, NY, has bred and fed a system of corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and political patronage, and how that is adversely affecting everything from elections to public health and criminal investigation and prosecution. That scheduled publication has been put on a side-burner because we have obtained some very derogatory information on Bernard T. Ng, MD, which may lead to serious consequences for the fake forensic pathologist.
We think that the New York State Police Investigators, the Albany County Coroners, and Bernard T. Ng need to spend more time watching Sherlock Holmes films; they’d probably be able to do a better job of investigation rather than dancing in the dark with factoids.
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, stated by Sherlock Holmes
What does that mean? This is all about logic, and using facts to establish truth. If you start with brainstorming every possible scenario you can think of, and then eliminate those that are clearly impossible, you are well on your way to a solution or at least a reasonable conclusion. That that isn’t the way it happens in Albany County when you put law-enforcement, the Albany County Coroners, and a wannabe forensic pathologist, Bernard T. Ng, MD, on the same case. Where the three of them should be free to do their jobs — or at least honest or qualified for the job —, they are also expected to be on the same page, or at least in the same book! They are not.
That’s the first step in solving any mystery, whether it’s a murder mystery in a book (or TV, or movie, or…CSI) or something you expected to work — like a death investigation, but didn’t. You have to eliminate all the things that it couldn’t possibly be, or you will have too many distractions, and then, once we’ve cleared out all the flotsam and jetsam, we can focus on what remains, which is usually something believable, even if it has to be cleaned up a bit. Sometimes what is left is easy to believe, other times it can seem unlikely but still possible. However, with the impossible eliminated, what remains are the only possible solutions. And one of them must be the truth.
Why is clearing out the impossible solutions important? Once we clear the clutter by removing all that is impossible, the questions become clearer, and we are left with a more plausible situation. What is left can be gone over more quickly, and evaluated for probability or even likelihood.
But when you’re talking to an Albany County Coroner, State Police Investigator Thomas Burns or other law enforcement, or pathologist Bernard T. Ng, logic and plausibility don’t seem to be in their script, nor does collaboration. In fact, one of the most frequently heard questions asked by them is: Who told you that? Actually, who cares who told me that? Is it TRUE? Did you check that?
That’s where education, training, experience, and an open mind come into play. A hefty dose of good communications skills and a willingness to engage in team work is a big plus. But, again, our trio of clowns seem to have cut that class.
It’s a clown act! Police Investigators, Coroners, Pathologist Bernie Ng, and Albany County DA Soares (top right corner, hiding, as usual).
The investigations into the deaths of Riley Kern and Joshua Abood clearly show that Albany County, law-enforcement — New York State Police, Cohoes Police —, the Albany County Coroners, coroner’s pathologist Bernie Ng, and the medical and forensic institutions (Albany Medical Center, Ellis Hospital) have failed the public continuously, consistently, and repeatedly.
But let’s first look at what the American Board of Pathology says about board certification, and the certification that Bernard T. Ng, MD, cannot claim he has, but he thinks he has. We have evidence in Ng’s own words, of Ng stating, and we quote:
” I am a board-certified pathologist in anatomic and clinical pathology. Within that, in that double-boarded status that I hold, anatomic pathology includes the practice of forensic autopsy and forensic investigation.”
Really, Bernie? You really think so? That statement alone should get him censured by the American Board of Pathology, if not prosecuted by the DAs in several New York counties, where Bernard T. Ng MD has been providing forensic pathology services but is not certified to do so.
With that in mind, let’s now have a look at what the American Board of Pathology has to say about certifications and how they are to be used, that is, used ethically:
CERTIFICATION BY THE ABPath The ABPath issues primary certificates in Anatomic Pathology and/or Clinical Pathology and Anatomic Pathology/Neuropathology.
We do not dispute the fact that Bernard T. Ng, MD, is, as he claims, board certified in anatomic/clinical pathology, and, if his résumé is correct, it appears he was granted the combined certification, rather than the individual anatomic and clinical pathology credentials separately.
The ABPthen describes the requirements for subspecialty certification, of interest to us here is the subspecialty of forensic pathology. Here’s what the ABPhas to say:
Subspecialty certificates are issued in:
Forensic Pathology
Subspecialty Certification. Pathology is a broad discipline; therefore, it is appropriate that some certified pathologists seek greater knowledge and expertise in one or more of the subspecialties of pathology. The achievement of subspecialty certification does not reflect on the ability of other pathologists to practice in that specialty area.
Forensic Pathology a. Candidates must be certified in AP/CP or AP and must complete 12 months of training in an ACGME accredited forensic pathology program.
The last sentence in the first paragraph may need some clarification by the ABP, but we’ll make a stab at it. What it means is that “other pathologists”, that is, pathologists who are not certified MAY practice in the”specialty” (note, the language does not say “subspecialty“); accordingly, the statement does not apply to the subspecialty of forensic pathology. It could also mean that “other pathologists” may practice forensic pathology without board-certification but their abilities are not credentialed or certified, so what good are they doing? Answer: Not much!
The ABPalso makes a clear and unambiguous statement on what physicians certified by the ABPmust use the certification:
Certification Status. Physicians with ABPath certificates are designated as Diplomates of the ABPath, and are entitled to so designate themselves in an ethical manner. All Diplomates are governed by policies for use of certification, and for expiration and revocation of certificates as the ABPath may, from time to time, adopt. Diplomates of the ABPath are required to accurately state their certification status in curriculum vitae, publications, directories, letterhead, etc. A diplomate with a time-limited certificate whose certificate has expired must not claim to be board certified, and all descriptions of certification status must be modified accordingly. If an individual represents that they are certified by the ABPath when such is not the case, the ABPath will notify appropriate authorities, including but not limited to hospital, healthcare, and credentialing organizations, licensing boards, and law enforcement agencies.[emphasis provided; ABPath = American Board of Pathology]
Looks like Bernie missed that section. As stated above, we have clear and convincing evidence that Bernard T. Ng, MD, represents himself as a qualified forensic pathologist, and that qualification is included in his ABP certification as an anatomic/clinical pathologist. It is not. We categorically and absolutely call his statements a clear misrepresentation of the scope of his certification credentials and an outright deception! Here is his statement, when asked by a concerned next-of-kin [NOK; name withheld at the request of the provider of the digital recording; in order to protect the provider, we invoke NY Shield Law privilege.]:
NOK: Are you a forensic pathologist?
Bernard Ng: No. Nor do I ever claim to be a forensic pathologist. But I do want to state that as a pathologist, I am a board-certified pathologist in anatomic and clinical pathology. Within that, in that double-boarded status that I hold, anatomic pathology includes the practice of forensic autopsy and forensic investigation. A person known as a forensic pathologist is a pathologist that only do [sic] forensic cases. I do…I am double-boarded. I also do clinical pathology; I also do surgical pathology, meaning that I also do examinations of patients, live patient, biopsies. They are in my scope of practice. So a forensic pathologist is clearly somebody that only do[es] that exclusively. I am a clinical and an anatomic pathologist. At no point… [interrupted]
We disagree strongly that Ng’s so-called “double-boarded status” includes the practice of forensic autopsy and forensic investigation. This opinion is supported by the fact that the ABP offers a subspecialty certification in forensic pathology that requires prior certification in anatomic/clinical or anatomic pathology. The very reasonable conclusion we can draw from that fact is that Ng’s statement is a misrepresentation and a deceit. Furthermore, there are many physicians with board certifications in forensic pathology who practice other specialties and clinical pathology and clinical medicine. Being a board-certified forensic pathologist does not mean that they don’t practice clinical medicine as well!
NOK: But isn’t a forensic pathologist needed when a body is found alone…with no witnesses? Suspiciously?
Bernard Ng: No. That is not forensic. The practice of forensic autopsy is within my scope of practice, and within the scope of my training and board certification. Do you understand what I am saying? So, for example, a kidney specialist, a nephrologist, has undergone, in order for them to focus just on the kidney, they are trained, in residency training, as an internal medicine doctor first, and then if they choose to focus only on kidney disease, they can then do a fellowship, and they become nephrologists. They are first trained as internal medicine doctors, with the additional focus on nephrology, which means the study and treatment of kidney disease, and that’s all they do is kidney disease. Even though they can still take care of somebody with an ear infection or with pneumonia, they choose to focus only on kidney disease. So they are called nephrologists.
We disagree strongly! It IS forensic. And we further disagree strongly that “[t]he practice of forensic autopsy is within [Ng’s] scope of training and board certification,” and we further suggest that the ABPwould agree with us completely. As for Ng’s nephrologist example, see below.
At this point the discussion turns to details that we will discuss later but let’s just focus on Ng’s statements in the above excerpt.
First, let’s just recap: A forensic pathologistis an expert who determines the cause of death of someone who may have died under suspicious circumstances. A forensic pathologist, because he has specialist training in forensics and pathology, is qualified, for example, to determine entrance and exit wounds of bullets; the angles of those bullets or knife wounds; whether someone was poisoned or overdosed; if someone was murdered before being burned or drowned, etc. He is specially trained to interpret details from the scene in conjunction with other information sources to determine the cause and the manner of death, that is, whether someone died by homicide, suicide or accident; etc. They do a fellowship in the field of forensic pathology, and are certified as forensic pathologists, and can be called upon by prosecutors to discuss their findings and answer questions from those who doubt their findings, such as a defense attorney. All pathologists are trained to do autopsies, but those without forensic training are qualified only to do autopsies to determine a cause of death that is generally medical and does not suggest suspicious circumstances or foul play. To be a forensic pathologist, according to the American Board of Pathology, a pathologist already board certified in anatomical pathology must do an additional year of fellowship training in an approved program and then take the certification examination.Bernard T. Ng, MD, did not do this.
That is the first point. Clear enough and there’s no debating that fact.He is not recognized by a qualified certification organization as a forensic pathologist. If he is not a forensic pathologist, he has no business doing medicolegal autopsies, forensic autopsies, which are exactly the kind of autopsy performed to determine important facts in a coroner’s case.
The second point is that Bernard T. Ng is so arrogant as to attempt to persuade the person that he is qualified to do forensic autopsies and forensics because they are in the scope of his certification as an anatomic/clinical pathologist. This is an outright lie! If it is not a lie, then Ng is very seriously mistaken about his own training and certification. Worse still, Ng appears not to know his limitations, which is a serious matter when we are discussing medical issues and a so-called physician.
According to the American Board of Pathology, forensic pathology is a sub-specialty, that is a specialty requiring additional training and education in an accredited year of additional study plus examination by the ABP. A forensic pathologist is an anatomical pathologist with at least 1 year of additional training in the subspecialty of forensic pathology. Bernard T. Ng does not have that training, much less the necessary certification.
Bernard T. Ng attempts to throw his “double-boarded status” out there as a red herring but it doesn’t work. Forensic pathology is not, as Ng states, within the scope of his practice as an anatomical/clinical pathologist; nor does a forensic pathologist only do exclusively forensic pathology, he is qualified also to do anatomic/clinical, and surgical pathology even more than a pathologist with “double-boarded status.” Furthermore, Ng’s unfortunate example of the “nephrologist” illustrates and confirms exactly what we are saying and contradicts Ng’s own statements. Using the example of the nephrologist was a very poor choice, indeed, because Ng is confused about exactly what he does and what he is qualified to do.
Let’s just have a closer look at Ng’s unfortunate nephrologist example:
Bernard Ng: …” So, for example, a kidney specialist, a nephrologist, has undergone, in order for them to focus just on the kidney, they are trained, in residency training, as an internal medicine doctor first, and then if they choose to focus only on kidney disease, they can then do a fellowship, and they become nephrologists.” All you have to do is replace nephrologist with “forensic pathologist,” and you will have almost exactly what the ABP says about pathologists. To be clearer, replace “kidney” with “disease/injury.”
Bernard Ng: “They are first trained as internal medicine doctors, with the additional focus on nephrology, which means the study and treatment of kidney disease, and that’s all they do is kidney disease.” While it’s incorrect to say that all a nephrologist does is kidney disease, it’s the training that we’re looking at. Again, just preplace “nephrologist” with “pathologist.”
Bernard Ng: “Even though they can still take care of somebody with an ear infection or with pneumonia, they choose to focus only on kidney disease. So they are called nephrologists.” Make the same substitutions in this statement, too.
Take it a step further and think of Ng’s nephrologist, and let’s look at a real ABP subspecialty, neuropathology. Like forensic pathology, neuropathology is recognized as a sub-specialty of anatomic pathology and requires additional training for certification. According to the American Board of Pathology, to receive certification and to call himself a neuropathologist he must:
be certified in anatomic/clinical pathology or anatomic pathology and must complete 24 months of training in an ACGME accredited neuropathology program.
Like neuropathologists, the forensic pathologist must obtain additional qualifications and be examined by the certifying authority before he can be considered certified in the subspecialty.
To practice the subspecialty of forensic pathology, even if he does not “claim to be a forensic pathologist,” as Ng states, by practicing the subspecialty and explicitly claiming that forensic practice within the scope of practice of his board certification in anatomic/clinical pathology, Ng is unethically perpetrating a fraud, misrepresentation, deception, and a malpractice.
We believe he is subject to severe discipline under civil and criminal laws, and to censure by the New York State Department of Education as the licensing authority, and to censure by the American Board of Pathology for misrepresenting his qualifications and scope of practice as including forensic pathology in his “double-boarded status” as an anatomic/clinical pathologist by the American Board of Pathology.
We will elaborate those charges to the competent authorities, and will continue to expose the public services that are complicit in Ng’s misconduct, including Ellis Hospital of Schenectady, Albany Medical College and Albany Medical Center, the Albany County Coroners Office and Albany County, and the offices of the medical examiner or coroner in the counties using Ellis Hospital mortuary services or Bernard T. Ng’s services as coroner’s physician.
This situation requires a thorough investigation of all parties involved, and prosecution to the fullest extent of civil, professional, and criminal statutes and laws.
Anyone who has had a loved one, a relative, a friend who has been subjected to this systemic misconduct by the Albany County Coroners Office or any office of the medical examiner or coroner in their county must join with us in this effort to expose and to correct this outrageous abuse of the public’s trust and to prevent continuation of this scandalous misconduct!
It’s time to hold the County Executive, Daniel McCoy (Dem), the Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares (Dem), the Albany County Legislature, the Albany County Office of the Coroner, Bernard T. Ng, Ellis Hospital, and Albany Medical Center ACCOUNTABLE and ANSWERABLE to the public. It’s time the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, the Albany City Police, Cohoes Police, the New York State Parks Police, the Coeymans Police Department, and all of the 15 counties using Bernadt T. Ng as their medicolegal death investigation pathologist, are ACCOUNTABLE and ANSWERABLE for cheating the public and the families of the deceased!
As for Bernard T. Ng, Ellis Hospital, Albany Medical Center, it is our intention to file formal complaints together with the families of Riley Kern and Joshua Abood, with the the New York State Department of Health, The American Board of Pathology, the New York State Department of Education, Division of Professional Misconduct Enforcement, and the National Association of Medical Examiners, demanding investigation and disciplinary action. The same formal complaint and demands will be filed with the New York State Department of Health against the funeral directors acting in their capacity as Albany County Coroners. Furthermore, we will demand that the Office of the State Attorney General investigate the Office of the Albany County Executive, the Office of the Albany County District Attorney, New York State Police Criminal Investigators, Troop G, Latham, NY, and other agencies for their abuse of public office in obstructing justice. We will further join with families of deceased who come under the jurisdiction of the Albany County Coroners to demand a thorough investigation of all deaths certified by the Albany County Coroners and the certification of Immediate Cause of Death, autopsies done by Bernard T. Ng MD upon request of the Albany county Coroners, and a thorough review of the investigation and certification procedures of the Albany County Coroners Office.
The **it’s hit the fan, dudes!
Our next Segment will discuss the Autopsies, the Autopsy Reports, and the Albany County Coroners’ Death Certifications.
Notes:
[1] See: Payne-James, Jason, and Roger W. Byard. Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine. Elsevier, (2016). Print.
[2]Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting. Hyattsville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2003. Print.
We are back to the Joshua Abood case, and will provide more specifics and detail on the investigation and the weirdos investigating and making decisions in the case. Stay tuned for the upcoming segment that will deal with New York State Police Investigator Thomas Burns, Albany County Coroner Antonio Sturges and the Albany County Legislature and the Albany CountyCoroners Office, Ellis Hospital (Schenectady) pathologist Bernard Ng, and New York State Assemblyman John T. McDonald III.
Way back in the late 1800s, when cremation was a hot issue in Europe, the UK, and in the USA, one of the major objections to cremation was the fact that once the body is incinerated, it is no longer available for further investigation. The major concern of the opponents was that crimes could be concealed if the body were no longer available for further medicolegal investigation. Those concerns are as valid today as they were then.
In the Joshua Abood and in the Riley Kern cases, the bodies were cremated; they are no longer available for continued medicolegal death investigation. This fact may be a speed bump but it does not deter from the egregious misconduct and deficiencies involved in their respective investigations.
A forensic autopsy is a series of tests and examinations performed on the body to determine the presence of an injury or to identify any disease that may have caused or contributed to the death. This internal and external examination is done by a forensic pathologist who has been specially trained to recognize patterns of injury, collect evidence and investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. The results of the death scene investigation, combined with the results of the autopsy, are used to determine the cause and manner of death. Specific autopsy protocols will be discussed in a later segment in this investigative series.[1]
During a forensic autopsy, it is necessary to thoroughly examine the body as well as the internal organs. The incisions needed to weigh and measure the organs are made in a manner that allows the funeral director to conceal them for the viewing service and funeral. Additionally, special tests are performed to check for the presence infectious diseases, alcohol, and/or drugs. A typical forensic autopsy takes approximately 2-4 hours but may require additional time to complete these special tests. If these tests are needed, the death certificate will be issued with “PENDING” as the cause of death while the medicolegal death investigator obtains the test results. This allows the family to make arrangements for moving the body to the funeral home and to schedule the funeral/burial.
Yes, both Riley and Joshua were cremated. That, however, does not detract in any way whatsoever from the facts we are presenting. Yes, the investigation is a sham at this point. No, the autopsy was not conducted by a qualified pathologist. No, the Death Certificates were not properly or correctly completed by the Albany County Coroners. Yes, the families, friends, and the public at large are being cheated, misinformed by their elected officials, and deceived. These facts are clear evidence of fraud, misconduct, and incompetence. These facts are the basis for civil lawsuits, if not criminal prosecutions. There may no longer be any bodies to exhume and re-examine but the damning facts are undeniable.
Much of this accepted procedure is ignored in Albany County, by the Albany County Coroners, and by Ellis Hospital pathologist, Bernard T. Ng. We examine two recent cases to illustrate how Albany County and Ng are failing the public.
What becomes exquisitely clear is that there is little or no accountability in Albany County between the Albany County Coroners Office,Bernard Ng, Ellis Hospital, Albany Medical Center, NewYork State Police, Cohoes Police Department, Coeymans Police Department, Albany County Sheriff’s Department, Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares, or anyone else. It appears that they’re all in bed together. They have each other’s back. A recent article reports that 15 counties relied on Albany Medical Center for their medicolegal autopsies. Now that Albany Medical Center has backed off and Albany County, at least, is sending their cases to Ellis Hospital in Schenectady and to Bernard T. Ng, are we to assume that at least 15 counties are getting substandard medicolegal death investigations? It certainly looks that way.
Reviewing our archival material on the Riley Kern case and more recently the Joshua Abood case, in which the Albany County Coroners Office and pathologist Bernard T. Ng were involved, and comparing the information on the Death Certificates for the two young men, we find that both Death Certificates, one relating to alleged internal bleeding due to a motorcycle-pick-up truck collision, and the other due to alleged drowning, both list the “Immediate Cause of Death” to be “Cardiopulomonary Arrest,” or heart attack, an event where the heart stops. While they could argue that any death is caused by the fact that the heart stops, that is not a cause of death unless it’s a codable event of “sudden cardiac death” (SCD). The heart stops in all deaths, however, so “cardiopulmonary arrest,” is hardly an accurate determination of cause of death in either of these two different cases. But that’s how Albany County CoronersJohn Keegan (Riley’s case) and Antonio Sturges(Joshua’s case) called the shots. Ellis Hospital pathologist Bernart T. Ng, misrepresenting himself as a forensic pathologist makes the situation even worse.
As defined by the National Association of Medical Examiners, the cause of death is, “the underlying disease or injury responsible for setting in motion a series of physiologic events culminating in death.” The Albany County Coroners and Bernard T. Ng apparently have not learned that leading definition.
Another concern is that when death certificates are used for compiling health statistics such as in the data collected by the CDC, listing “cardiopulmonary arrest” and the immediate cause of death is totally irresponsible on the part of the coroners office and the so-called pathologistproviding the information supporting that determination. The national death and health statistics lose their reliability and value when deaths and causes of death are incorrectly reported.
In Riley Kern’s death, Yes! his heart did stop breathing. In Joshua Abood’s death, his heart did stop beating. But neither was a heart attack! Riley succumbed to the effects of collision trauma, which caused internal bleeding; mishandling of his case by first responders and by Albany Medical Center ER staff, may have complicated his condition, and even aggravated it, possibly contributing to the young man’s death, but the cause of death is anything but “cardiopulmonary arrest.”
In Joshua Abood’s case, he was found face down in the Mohawk River, apparently a drowning incident but suspicious because it was associated with what is being called an “altercation” with two individuals with street drug connections. Joshua’s death has the elements of suspicious cause of death or even homicide, but investigators have tried to sweep the case under the carpet. Determining, however incompetently, the death to be caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest,” as Albany county Coroner Antonio Sturges has done, and given the substandard Autopsy Report signed by Bernard T. Ng, who violates every item in the Performance Standards for Forensic Autopsy of the National Association of Medical Examiners (a.k.a. NAME) is an embarrassment if not an outrage!
In both Riley Kern’s case and Joshua Abood’s case, the Albany County Coroners Office and Bernard T. Ngof Ellis Hospital are involved. In both Riley’s case and Joshua’s case, the coroners office calls the Immediate Cause of Death, “cardiopulmonary arrest,” or heart attack. Both causes of death are incorrect, even if we assume they were not suspicious or the result of an assault, and accidental (that is, the “Manner of Death”).
According to the CDC guidelines for medical examiners and coroners:[2]
“The immediate cause [of death] does not mean the mechanism of death or terminal event (for example, cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest). The mechanism of death (for example, cardiac or respiratory arrest) should not be reported as the immediate cause of death as it is a statement not specifically related to the disease process, and it merely attests to the fact of death. The mechanism of death therefore provides no additional information on the cause of death.”
The Albany County Coroners do not know how to correctly fill out a death certificate!
We have obtained two recordings of a next-of-kin’s conversations with John Keegan (Magin & Keegan Funeral Home), an Albany County Coroner for at least 12 years at the time of Riley’s death and about 14 years at the time of Joshua’s death, and with Bernard T. Ng MD, a clinical/anatomic pathologist, not a forensic pathologist, on the staff of Ellis Hospital in Schenectady and the owner of Schenectady Pathology Associates P.C., in Schenectady. The contents of those recordings is nothing less that shocking.
The Bernard T. Ng’s Statements
We first reviewed the more than 35 minutes of recorded conversation of the mother of a victim who asked the question, whether Ng received or reviewed the victim’s medical records at the time of doing the autopsy. Ng never answers the question but dances around talking about everything else.
We gather from the content of the recording that Ng never reviewed the victim’s medical records prior to the autopsy, and conveniently leaves out important injuries that could not have gone unnoticed at autopsy, injuries that the Standards require be documented, but were not. Was Ng covering for his cronies at Albany Medical Center, where the young man died.
It is clearly established by every organization that represents the specialty of pathology or the specialty of forensic pathology that the goal of the forensic autopsy is to determine the cause of death, which is defined as “”. But Ng has his own definition: “Ultimately the findings of the autopsy for the determination of the cause of death is to determine whether or not the injuries were consistent with the accident [the victim] was in.” What this appears to mean is that Ng’s autopsy findings are aimed at confirming what the coroner or the police think should be cause of death; he is not doing autopsies objectively and competently (or honestly). But then Ng is not a forensic pathologist; that becomes obvious when he’s asked about x-rays, and responds:
The victim’s mother askes NG if he saw any of the incriminating x-rays. Ng responds:
I am not a radiologist and the x-ray images that I tend to deal with are mostly skeletal, penetrating injury…I’m not self confident…my responsibility is to correlate the type of injury with the event that caused them. The death was likely due to the sequence of this damage to the body.
and again,
I don’t think I would be the best person to review those x-rays; I think you should find another radiologist … I don’t think it would ultimately change the cause of death of your son.
and again,
No, I usually don’t get those because of the fact that I’m not a radiologist…the I saw in the physical examination of the body…I wouldn’t really be the right person to review these trauma x-rays they tend to have a lot of tubes and lines that are not necessarily there any more at time of the autopsy, a gown that … It’s hard for me to determine…I normally don’t look at these clinical x-rays, unless there’s a foreign object I’m looking for…I don’t have the training to look at those lines and to comment that they are not there in the right place.
Riley’s mother asks Ng if he took any pictures at the time of the autopsy. Ng says he’s going to look, and asks her to hold. At this point the recording continues for about 5 minutes and then goes dead. If Ng, as John Keegan states, usually takes autopsy photos, wouldn’t Ng know whether he did or did not? After all this wasn’t the first time Riley’s mother called about her son’s autopsy.
BTW, Riley’s mom is a nurse and apparently knows more about the procedures done on her son than Bernard Ng, or more than Ng cares to admit.
But even an AMC anesthesiologist on the case stated that they would never remove the tubes from the body, and John Keegan himself states that the tubes would or should be there at autopsy. But Bernard Ng neither notices the gaping hole in the young man’s neck, nor does he notice the holes in his chest, and he doesn’t see any trauma in his chest due to the clumsy manipulation of a chest tube by an inexperienced resident for over an hour!
Furthermore, radiologic evidence is a key tool for the qualified forensic pathologist but Bernard T. Ng, doesn’t feel that he should use or is qualified to use x-rays or radiological imaging in his autopsy work. A properly trained, qualified, board-certified forensic pathologist would never make such a statement.
Bernard T. Ng MD claims to have been doing medicolegal autopsies for about 20 years. We cannot even begin to think of the damage he’s done, and the number of inaccurately and incorrectly certified deaths in the counties using him for autopsy services. It’s criminal.
The John Keegan, Albany County Coroner Statements
John Keegan is a funeral director and is associated with the Magin & Keegan Funeral Home in Albany, New York. He has been an Albany County Coroner for more than 12 years but he doesn’t seem to grasp the seriousness and the scope of the coroner’s job.
Our first observation after reviewing the Death Certificates is that the Albany County Coroners don’t have a clue how to correctly certify a death or fill out a Death Certificate.
Every death results from cardiopulmonary arrest, the heart stops beating the person stops breathing but that’s not a death certificate cause of death. We discuss that above.
John Keegan is a nice enough guy; he has the cool manners of an undertaker, after all he is a funeral director. But when challenged, he gets really defensive, as we observed in the recorded conversation we reviewed. We think he should stick to the funeral business, and leave death investigation to someone with some appropriate credentials.
In recent years, medical examiners offices and coroners offices have attempted to take the edge of their authority to order autopsies, and the medical examiners and forensic pathologists, the qualified ones, that is, have been attempting to work with families when it becomes necessary to retain organs after autopsy, even when the body is returned to the family for final disposition. They give the family a call and advise them about what must be done, and may even sympathetically apologize for what the law requires. But not in Albany County.
When Riley’s mother questioned the fact that the family was not notified or consulted before Riley’s body was sent to Ellis Hospital to be autopsied by Bernard Ng, we were a bit surprised by Keegan’s response:
EKern: Nobody asked the family.
JKeegan: Nobody asked the family what… it’s the law that I order an autopsy, esp. in a motor vehicle accident.
When asked if the autopsy report is used to determine the cause of death, Keegan answers:
EKern: Isn’t it [the autopsy report] used to determine the cause of death?
JKeegan: The autopsy report…certainly!
And when asked about whether the pathologist would be provided with Riley’s medical records, Keegan reponds:
JKeegan: Well the pathologist gets every medical record from the hospital that is available, he reviews the medical record, and then proceeds to do an autopsy, with everything that he reads, sees, observes and that he finds in the procedures he does in the autopsy, the end result is he determines the cause of death or major factor that caused the death of the individual. I’m not a doctor, I’m an elected official who decides whether an autopsy is required or by law legally ordered, and that is what actually what I did. The doctor finds in his findings is exactly that, not whether the hospitals he finds the exact cause of death…
EKern: Removal of the central line leaves a fairly large hole but I’m surprised it wasn’t reported…
JKeegan: I’m assuming that if it had anything to do with his cause of death, it would have been documented. Again, I don’t want to answer for the pathologist, I don’t want to answer for the hospital … that’s not my job nor my expertise nor something that I can respond to because I don’t have anything to do with that.
When Riley’s mom asks about the fact that the tubes were apparently removed from Riley’s body before it was transported for autopsy, Keegan responds — this is the second time in the conversation where Keegan gets touchy, defensive:
EKern: I’m becoming suspicious…The anesthesiologist there [at AMC] said that’s the number one thing: you do not touch those lines. And when I asked [Bernard Ng] about the autopsy report, he said they were not there…so …
JKeegan: Well the autopsy report [sic] is not supposed to remove any lines. Well, we don’t remove … the responsible is the motorcycle accident. If you want to go further with that …
EKern: I’d want people to be more sympathetic …
JKeegan: You’re trying to accuse the Coroners Office of removing lines? I don’t want you to take it the wrong way. I ordered an autopsy…what the hospital did, I have no jurisdiction over them.
The Standards require that the medicolegal investigators cooperate and collaborate in parallel, that each agency conducts their work without interference from any other agency, that they all work together, and presumably talk to each other. That doesn’t seem to be happening in Albany County death investigations. It’s having a very bad effect on confidence in law enforcement, death investigations, and in justice overall. Corrective action is overdue.
Time Interval Between Actual Death and Discovery of the Body
One glaring omission we found in Bernard Ng’s so called medicolegal autopsies — at best a misrepresentation or even fraud — is the conspicuous lack of a statement relating to establishing a time of death.
In Riley Kern’s case, there was no real need to do this, since Riley was pronounced dead in a hospital setting following clinical procedures, which for one or another reason failed.
In Joshua Abood’s case, the timeframe between the time he was last seen alive, the interval between that and the event leading to his death, and the time between his death and the discovery of his body seem to have been overlooked. The National Association of Medical Examiners and other leading authorities clearly state in their Standards, that the post-mortem signs should be used for determining a time of death.
We’d like you to understand what we are talking about. You see, once a person dies, the body begins the process of decomposition, literally it breaks down. This process can be described by four basic changes that can be observed externally: post-mortem signs. There are 4 main postmortem signs, which occur in this order: (1) pallor mortis the paleness associated with a dead body; (2) algor mortis, the cooling of a dead body; (3) rigor mortis, the initial stiffening of the dead body; (4) livor mortis, the pooling of blood in the dead body. These signs occur in the first 24 hours after death occurs.
Postmortem Death Signs
Pallor mortis is the first sign and occurs due to the absence of blood flow to the skin and surface vessels. Algor mortis is the second sign, and is also due to the shutdown of the body’s metabolic processes and the absence of blood flow. This results in the change in the body’s core temperature, and depends on environmental factors that should be taken into consideration at scene investigation; the body assumes environmental temperature. Rigor mortis is the 3rd sign, where muscles contract or stiffen due to the release of chemicals affecting the muscles. Livor mortis is the pooling of blood in the lowermost parts of the body in telltale patterns. Two other events occur in addition to these signs. The first is primary flaccidity or the condition following death when the body goes limp (all the muscles relax); in this stage there the urinary and anal sphicters may relax. Once tissue decomposition has reached a certain stage, a second phase of relaxation called secondary flaccidity occurs. This whole cycle can take about 24 hours, and is used by forensic experts to determine time of death and other information relating to the deceased.
Forensic Pathologist
Bernard T. Ng is what is called a clinical/anatomical pathologist but is not a qualified forensic pathologist; he does not have the necessary training or certification, and should not be doing forensic or medicolegal autopsies in connection with coroner’s or law-enforcement death investigations. If, as he states, he’s been doing this for 20 years, it is tantamount to professional malpractice, or even criminal fraud.
When a body is discovered, and following initial scene investigation and on site examination of the body, the deceased is usually subjected to the forensic autopsy. This is where the specially trained forensic pathologist enters the picture. His role is basically to answer four questions: (1) Who is this? (2) When did you die? (3) Where did you die? (4) How did you die? (5) Why did you die? and if there is suspicion of homicide, (6) Who did it? This dialogue between the forensic pathologist and the corpse will determine what type of autopsy is required, external or internal examination or both, and then to carry out the autopsy and determine the answers to the “death dialogue” questions, which only the deceased and the scene investigation can answer.
Forensic Pathologist vs. Coroner
The medical examiner/coroner investigates deaths that are unexpected, unexplained, or if an injury or poisoning was involved. State laws provide guidelines for when a medical examiner/coroner must be notified. The medical examiner or coroner will either complete the cause-of-death section of the death certificate or waive that responsibility. If the medical examiner/coroner does not accept the case, then the certifying medical professional will need to complete the cause-of-death section. In Albany County, the county coroner will usually certify the death on the death certificate.
The Forensic Pathologistis specially trained to determine the cause and manner of death. And she can be hired to perform private autopsies, medicolegal, or forensic autopsies, and to be an expert witness and testify in court. The Coroneris a lay person elected or appointed to oversee the operation of the coroner’s office and to investigate deaths. In general, coroners have little or no medical or forensics training. Coroner’s rely on law-enforcement to do the overall investigation of the incident and forensic Pathologists to perform autopsies.
As we’ve clearly shown in the case of John Keegan and Antonio Sturges, and in the professional literature on the subject, most jurisdictions have recognized that coroners are generally ignorant and can cause more problems than they solve; they can be serious speed bumps in any death investigation. That is one reason why so many jurisdictions, that is, counties and states, have upgraded their death investigation offices to the Office of the Medical Examiner (ME), a physician licensed to practice medicine, and frequently specializing in forensic pathology.
You don’t have to look far for any of the above. Albany County is the place to go to find it. Try Albany Medical Center (AMC), Ellis Hospital and Schenectady Pathology Associates for professional misconduct.
Investigation and Documentation of Death
There is general confusion among coroners and even among some pathologists as to when the terms “cause of death” and “mechanism of death” or “manner of death,” and even a superficial review of death certificates will prove this point.
The cause of death or “immediate cause of death” is the specific injury or disease that leads to death. Cause of death” refers to the physical factors that caused the body to stop functioning and answers the question, “Why did you die?” “Why did you die?” might also include the “mechanism” of death, which is the specific physiological disturbances that actually led to death or the cessation of life. For example, a heart attack death could die from a fatal irregular rhythm in the heart such as ventricular fibrillation, for example, or from severe damage to the heart muscle, leading to shock. Here the cause of death is a cardiac arrest, but the mechanism is a cardiac arrhythmia or cardiogenic shock, respectively.
The “manner of death” means how the cause of death actually occurred, that is, what circumstances led to the cause of the death event. “How did you die?” In general, there are five manners of death: natural, accidental, suicide, homicide (which technically would include suicide), and undetermined. A gunshot wound (the cause of death), may have been accidental, suicidal, or homicidal, for example. Only deaths from old age or naturally-occurring disease can be considered natural.
The Albany County Coronershave shown themselves to be incompetent political fixtures, and Bernard T. Ng MD is incompetent and inconsistent, and is not qualified to perform medicolegal or forensic autopsies. Albany County and any other county operating under the authority of a coroners office or even a medical examiner, and there are allegedly 15 such counties, who base their coroner’s death certifications and their law-enforcement death investigations on the findings of a coroner or the results of autopsies performed by Bernard T. Ng, must be held accountable for their ignorance and indifference, and for the serious damage they are doing to the public interest and to public health overall.
It’s time to hold the County Executive, Daniel McCoy (Dem), the Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares (Dem), the Albany County Legislature, the Albany County Office of the Coroner, Bernard T. Ng, Ellis Hospital, and Albany Medical Center ACCOUNTABLE and ANSWERABLE to the public. It’s time the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, the Abany City Police, Cohoes Police, the New York State Parks Police, the Coeymans Police Department, and all of the 15 counties using Bernart T. Ng as their medicolgal death investigation pathologist, are ACCOUNTABLE and ANSWERABLE for cheating the public and the families of the deceased!
As for Bernard T. Ng, Ellis Hospital, Albany Medical Center, it is our intention to file formal complaints together with the families of Riley Kern and Joshua Abood, with the the New York State Department of Health, The American Board of Pathology, the New York State Department of Education, Division of Professional Misconduct Enforcement, and the National Association of Medical Examiners, demanding investigation and disciplinary action. The same formal complaint and demands will be filed with the New York State Department of Health against the funeral directors acting in their capacity as Albany County Coroners. Furthermore, we will demand that the Office of the State Attorney General investigate the Office of the Albany County Executive, the Office of the Albany County District Attorney, New York State Police Criminal Investigators, Troop G, Latham, NY, and other agencies for their abuse of public office in obstructing justice. We will further join with families of deceased who come under the jurisdiction of the Albany County Coroners to demand a thorough investigation of all deaths certified by the Albany County Coroners and the certification of Immediate Cause of Death, autopsies done by Bernard T. Ng MD upon request of the Albany county Coroners, and a thorough review of the investigation and certification procedures of the Albany County Coroners Office.
The **it’s hit the fan, dudes!
Our next Segment will discuss the Autopsies, the Autopsy Reports, and the Albany County Coroners’ Death Certifications.
Notes:
[1] See: Payne-James, Jason, and Roger W. Byard. Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine. Elsevier, (2016). Print.
[2]Medical Examiners’ and Coroners’ Handbook on Death Registration and Fetal Death Reporting. Hyattsville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2003. Print.
We are back to the Joshua Abood case, and will provide more specifics and detail on the investigation and the weirdos investigating and making decisions in the case. Stay tuned for the upcoming segment that will deal with New York State Police Investigator Thomas Burns, Albany County Coroner Antonio Sturges and the Albany County Legislature and the Albany CountyCoroners Office, Ellis Hospital (Schenectady) pathologist Bernard Ng, and New York State Assemblyman John T. McDonald III.
This breaking news comes on the heels of the Hudson Valley 360 report on March 12, 2022, Exclusive report: Falsified police records spark AG probe (Kate Lisa) that gives details of an Attorney General investigation into Coeymans Police Department misconduct and fraudulent training records. That article was a shocking exposé of criminality in law enforcement, reporting criminal activity, discipline, firings in other police departments and how Coeymans picks up the garbage and refuse from other municaplities’ police departments.
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the day after the accident, in a video recording made prior to an official public Coeymans Town Board meeting, a video made of 
Attorney P. David Soares.
Matt Toporowski’s campaign opposing Soares was actually backed by Albany Mayor, the Honorable Mayor Kathy Sheehan and national celebrities. There’s no winning in Albany County unless the bosses and the Machine are backing you! That’s gotta stop! NOW!
Some Related 
WTF?!?
That is the first point. Clear enough and there’s no debating that fact. 
Albany NY a.k.a. Smalbany 