Coeymans: Gross Misconduct! George McHugh, Supervisor, and Douglas Keyer, Chief of Police, Must Resign!

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.

---

Cut and paste this link into your Facebook post or your email to let your friends know about this important article.
Here’s the link: https://wp.me/p2jPFe-4nJ

---

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 3^rd 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.

 

McHugh Tries to Put a Spin on Accident

As new facts emerge, we’ll keep you updated.

Share this link with all your Friends on FaceBook! Copy this link: https://wp.me/p2jPFe-4mG

---

George McHugh is living proof that if you have enough losers supporting you, you can be a winner.

Supporters of George McHugh going to Polls

What species of depraved animal life could have spawned a creature like George McHugh? I often wonder what kind of community would be so ignorant or evil to have elected such a miscreant to be their town supervisor, and put him in charge of local government and law enforcement?

How can a community trust a man and his co-conspirators, who use a public Town Board Meeting to spread misinformation about an accident? At the Coeymans town board meeting of September 9, 2021, George McHugh and his wife made public statements regarding the September 8, 2021, accident caused by McHugh’s unsafe turn out of the Picker’s Nation/Changing with the Times auction center parking lot. McHugh’s remarks and the misinformation he spread have no factual basis whatsoever; McHugh’s underhanded misconduct is an unscrupulous, deceitful, and desperate attempt to save his own cojones. It’s also a flagrant abuse of public resources.

---

McHugh Misuses Public Resources to Publicize His Lies…

At that meeting (Coeymans Town Board meeting, September 8, 2021), McHugh makes wild, unfounded statements (transcript of meeting video) regarding the accident and Mr. Laszlo Polyak:

McHugh:         So he careened off me, and went back across 9W, right into the sign, and stopped and that’s where he skidded. He’s lucky he didn’t get killed.

Unidentified woman (Tanner?):           No kidding. You’re lucky you didn’t get killed.

McHugh:         Well, I have a truck and my truck is pretty big. So even if he hit me head-on I might not get hurt. [inaudible]

Rowzee (Clerk):           Is that the one you have out there?

McHugh:         Until tomorrow. It’s my father’s… my daughter’s.

McHugh:         He was asleep, and I guess he’s on some pretty serious medication.[1] He was just coming back from the Urgent Care.[2] He fell asleep, he was falling…he was asleep; and I guess he didn’t have a phone on him.

Male voice:      Rosemary got just a little bit of seatbelt bruise but nothing major. He was one lucky individual; if he was in front of a tractor trailer…he was gone, he would have been crushed.

McHugh:         If I wasn’t paying attention…I moved over so far that when he hit me the impact was in the middle of my lane, half of my truck was off the shoulder. If I didn’t move over to the right we would have hit him head on…and that would have been different. Probably for him, because his car is a lot…[Inaudible male voices]

McHugh:         Well, he was asleep.[3] He was so far asleep he didn’t even realize he hit somebody. When they said to him where’s the other vehicle,[4] he said “What other vehicle; it’s just me. I didn’t hit anybody.” He did not know he hit somebody.[5]

You were there…we’re talking about the accident with Laszlo [inaudible]

Unidentified male voice: Do you know who the driver was? [Multiple voices] Lazlo?

Rosemary McHugh:     It’s, it’s not funny but it is funny now, because I’m like looking back, I’m like I can’t remember just holding on to the side of the door and he’s like, I think he’s going to hit us. I think he is, too, but he’s going to the right, so I’m, like, [sound goes out in the video]

Rosemary Mchugh:      In the antique center parking lot…it was in the antique center… (audio fails)[6]

[Indistinct overtalk about “little old lady”…]

McHugh:         He didn’t hit his brakes until he got to the lawn.[7] There are no skid marks until he got to the lawn.[8]

Rosemary McHugh:     He must have woken up at some time … [McHugh interrupts]

McHugh: John… [McHugh calls the meeting to order.]

One outraged local wrote to the Coeymans Town Clerk, expressing outrage at the fact that McHugh and his wife commandeered Town resources to get their lies out to the public. S/he writes:

“I cannot believe that the conversation relating to the McHugh-Polyak accident of September 8, 2021, was part of the ToC Board Meeting video posted on Facebook!

“That conversation should never have been recorded, much less posted as part of the ToC Board Meeting; it should have been redacted prior to publication, since it publicises one side of a story and unduly and unfairly influences public opinion in favor of McHugh. McHugh is prejudicing public opinion in his favor and doing so in an unethical and inappropriate manner. Mr Polyak does not have the opportunity to commandeer Town of Coeymans resources to get his side of the story out, which is patently unfair and unconscionable.

“I realize you had no control over the recording but I am certain you were privy to the plan to get McHugh’s message out. I hope you agree that it was inappropriate and out of order.”

The Coeymans Town Clerk, Cindy Rowzee, a very professional public servant with integrity to spare, responded:

“My office, by order of the Town Supervisor, has nothing to do with the Town Facebook page or the Town webpage.”

McHugh and his puppets have marginalized the Clerk’s office, and appear to have total control of the Town FakeBook page and the town website. No wonder there’s so much abuse!

After hearing this banter and the lies and misinformation being broadcast by McHugh and his wife, it seemed almost blasphemy, sacrilege for McHugh and his cronies to have pledged allegiance to the flag, saying “justice for all”; it was even worse when board member Zachary Collins intoned an incoherent prayer asking for blessings for the “supervisor” and the “board.” Such hypocrisy makes you want to vomit.

Here are the Facts Smalbany obtained from Witnesses — Witnesses the Coeymans PD Refused to Interview:

---

On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at about 1 p.m., George McHugh was exiting the parking lot at 2530 US Rt. 9W, Picker’s Nation/Changing Times auction center, and attempted to make a left-hand turn out of the parking lot onto southbound 9W, according to witnesses. McHugh and his wife were exiting the auction center parking lot and McHugh, driving, allegedly was on his cell phone, made a miscalculation when entering 9W, causing the accident. The driver of a passenger car, Laszlo Polyak (Ravena, NY) heading North from Coxsackie to Ravena, struck McHugh’s pickup truck in the rear on the driver’s side, veered into the oncoming lane after his airbag had deployed, and narrowly avoided hitting a utilities pole in front of the AMC Urgent Care, taking down the Urgent Care sign before coming to a stop.

---

Both rear tires of McHugh’s pickup blew out; the passenger vehicle driven by Polyak was totaled.

McHugh Does His Best to Confuse the Facts…

When Coeymans Police Department responded, McHugh attempted every trick in a shyster’s book to shift the blame for the accident on the driver of the passenger car. McHugh started off telling the responding Coeymans Police patrolperson:

• He’s drunk, meaning Polyak, the driver of the passenger car. Breathalyzer proved negative.
• He was on his cellphone. Sorry, Georgie, the driver didn’t have a cellphone on his person or in his car. Try again, Georgie!
• Finally, all else failing, Georgie tells the police officer that the other driver was sleeping (!). Georgie, if he were sleeping, how did he manage to control his car with an airbag in his face, and avoid serious injuries while careening into the CapitalCare sign.

Apparently, George McHugh was desperately trying to shift the blame from himself on to the other driver, but the physical facts are undisputable.

Polyak was returning to Ravena from Coxsackie, where he purchased several silver dollars at Miller’s Mint. That fact is easily verifiable since, according to New York State tax law, Miller’s Mint would have had to document the sale and the collection of NYS sales tax on the merchandise sold. Most sales receipts not only describe the items purchased and their price(s) but also the tax collected. Moreover, most receipts show a date and a time the receipt was printed out. Using that information, Polyak can prove that he was at Miller’s Mint purchasing the coins shortly before returning to Ravena, and the date and time on the receipt would prove the timeframe between leaving Miller’s Mint and the accident.

As for McHugh’s fake and fabricated claim that Polyak was at some unspecified UrgentCare, there would be records showing that Polyak was not there and did not have an appointment there.

McHugh claims that Polyak was asleep when the accident occurred. Another fabrication that can easily be exposed as a lie. The salesperson at Miller’s Mint can testify as to Polyak’s mental state when purchasing the coins. Furthermore, Miller’s Mint has video recordings of activity in the shop. Those recordings can demonstrate that Polyak was not impaired or somnolent. Are we to believe that in the few minutes between leaving Miller’s Mint and the accident, Polyak decided to take a nap at the wheel? He made it to Ravena with no mishap, why would he have fallen asleep at the particular moment of the accident. The obvious answer is clearly that he was not asleep. The suggestion is ridiculous.

According to witnesses, George McHugh was exiting a private property parking lot onto US Route 9W. George McHugh was attempting to make a left-hand turn into the southbound lane of 9W, and in order to do that he had to cross the northbound lane, in which the oncoming vehicle operated by Polyak was approaching. McHugh obviously miscalculated or was distracted by his passenger, his wife, Rosemary McHugh, or by his cellphone, because upon entering 9W, he was unable to make the turn into the southbound lane safely, and caused the oncoming vehicle to collide with the rear of his (McHugh’s) truck. (See the reconstruction diagram, above.)

The physical evidence shown in the images below of the passenger car prove that McHugh was in the turn but couldn’t make it. The severe damage to the left, the driver’s side of the passenger car, and the damage to the rear of McHugh’s truck clearly show that McHugh attempted the turn unsafely, and caused the accident.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now, as most of our readers know, George McHugh is town supervisor of the Town of Coeymans, and the Coeymans Town Board is packed solid with McHugh’s lackies.

Coeymans Police Department up to Their Old Corrupt Tricks Again?

For several years now, the Coeymans Police Department had been considered for elimination, until McHugh and his board decided they could take advantage of a town police department for their own purposes. The Coeyman’s PD had and continues to have such a scandalous reputation for corruption and incompetence that three years ago, the Crandall Town Board had to ask for assistance from the Albany County Sheriff’s Department. Coeymans is now regularly patrolled by Albany County Sheriff’s deputies operating out of a substation in Coeymans.

Of the three most recent police chiefs, two, Gregory Darlington and Daniel Contento, went into retirement in practical disgrace; the current Coeymans Police Chief is Douglas Keyer, a former NY state trooper, and many of the patrol personnel are out-of-towners, part-timers. The Coeymans PD continues to be a Keystone Cops act, and they continue to botch investigations but McHugh can use them to his advantage, as he’s doing in this accident case.

You see, George McHugh and his Town Board have hire-fire authority over the Coeymans PD, including its chief, Keyer, so the clowns must dance to McHugh’s tune. And they do!

Coeymans Police Department on an Investigation.

Why is this important, you may well ask?

Answer: The responding officer called in to get guidance from Coeymans police chief Keyer, who allegedly instructed her to issue a ticket to the driver of the passenger car, Laszlo Polyak, and the officer obeyed. The ticket was “failure to keep right.” Yes, you are reading correctly: the driver with right-of-way was issued the ticket for “failing to keep right.” McHugh was not ticketed for his unsafe turn, which caused the accident. Surprised?

Well, if your job depended on not rubbing George McHugh the wrong way, what would you do?

McHugh called a buddy of his, Charlie Martinez of Martinez Auto Body, in Coxsackie to come to remove his truck. Apparently, McHugh knew he had to get the truck out of sight and fast, because any examination of the truck would have raised questions about McHugh’s cooked up version of what happened.

Another question is: If Burns + Sons Auto Repair & AAA Towing was just across the street, Why did George McHugh call a towing company (Martinez Autobody) located more than 12 miles away, in another county, deep in Greene County, to remove his vehicle almost immediately? Answer: In order to conceal incriminating evidence. McHugh had to  get the truck out of Albany County, out of the jurisdiction of the Coeymans Police Department, so that they couldn’t complete an investigation of the damage to McHugh’s vehicle, and McHugh could cover up any culpability in the accident. Even the Coeymans Police Department couldn’t miss or fail to question McHugh’s story in light of the reported damage to his truck! McHugh fans should ask their dirty darling what he’s trying to hide. Do you think you’d get away with such criminal obstruction?

Charlie Martinez and Martinez Autobody Conspire with McHugh to Conceal Evidence…

Charlie Martinez is the owner of Martinez Autobody on Flint Road in Coxsackie. Martinez, a rabid Republican, is also a sitting Greene County legislator. You’d think he’d be running an honest game. You know: fair play, truth, justice, the American way? Really? Wake up and guess again. Martinez and McHugh are cut from the same cloth: both self-serving and crooked, on a power trip at public expense.

When a correspondent/reporter went to Martinez’s auto body shop and asked to see McHugh’s vehicle, Martinez called McHugh. McHugh ordered Martinez not to have anything to do with showing the vehicle. Martinez ordered the correspondent/reporter off the premises. Martinez opted to cooperate with McHugh to conceal the evidence of the damage to McHugh’s vehicle. That’s Coeymans government and a member of the Greene County Legislature doing what crooks do: cheat the public.

McHugh belongs behind bars, not behind the Supervisor’s desk.

So, there you have two elected government officers, McHugh and Martinez, the one a lawyer and Coeymans town supervisor and the other a business owner (Martinez Auto Body, Inc.) and county legislator, concealing evidence to obstruct justice. Nice place we live in, right?

Charles Martinez, owner of Martinez Autobody, Inc., and a sitting Greene County Legislator, denied access to McHugh’s vehicle.

---

Editor’s Note: Martinez earned his Judas label, when he and his playmates in the Greene County Legislature handed Nolan Propane, an Albany County propane gas supplier, the contract for Greene County Government locations, ignoring the fact that a historical Greene County business, C.A. Albright & Sons, had spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars on the creation of a modern propane distribution facility right in Greene County, in New Baltimore. It was a slap in the face of Greene County business and development; a betrayal, in fact. This blog reported extensively on those developments. So Martinez’ behavior in this case is no big surprise. Charlie Martinez and Martinez Autobody should be boycotted, and Martinez removed from the Greene County Legislature! 

---

The Coeymans Police Department showed what puppets they are and how incompetently they conduct law enforcement and investigations. Only the faces have changed since Jerry “Dirty Hands” Deluca and Gregory “Dumplin'”Darlington were bullying Coeymans. Now we have a new bunch who will persecute the innocent at the whim of their boss, George McHugh. Car 54, Where are you?

Coeymans PD Official Incident Report Delayed…Surprised?

The “official” police report was supposed to have been completed on Monday, September 13, 2021, but was not ready; it still wasn’t ready on September 14th.  The reason given was that “some parts had to be tweaked.” I’ll bet they do! Translation: “Facts have to be falsified.” McHugh probably ordered his pocket-police-chief Keyer to give it a “clean up” before it goes out, just in case he has to make any changes. We’ll certainly get a copy and dissect it for you. Or maybe the Coeymans Police under Keyer’s guidance will get smart and honest, and report the true facts, not McHugh’s fantasy facts.

Our advice to the driver of the passenger car, Mr. Polyak, was to immediately plead “not guilty” to the fraudulent ticket issued by the Coeymans Police, and to demand a supporting deposition by the investigating police officer.

McHugh is not electable because of his scandalous misconduct…

In the meantime, this is an election year, and George McHugh appears to be running for a second 2-year term as Coeymans Town Supervisor. Seems he’s not done setting Coeymans up for himself and his cronies and clients. Coeymans made a mistake putting him in the Supervisor’s office two years ago. Let’s see if they’re that stupid to give him another 2 years to make fools of Coeymans residents. His conduct in this accident should put a damper on his political hopes.

McHugh has shown his true colors AGAIN. We warned Coeymans two years ago that McHugh is bad news but his lies and his thugs apparently won the first round, and he got himself elected two years ago. Will Coeymans let it happen again, after this exhibition of lies and abuse of public office?

George McHugh and his lies and misconduct have hurt his chances for re-election. That’s fortunate for the Town of Coeymans, because a very experienced and intelligent woman will be running against him in November.

---

Notes on the Town Board Video Transcript

[1] McHugh has no way of knowing what medications Polyak is taking. Furthermore, McHugh has no way of knowing whether Polyak was asleep or not! Is McHugh trying to say that Polyak was driving down US 9W asleep?!? As an attorney, regardless of his low standard of ethics, McHugh should know that his statements are inappropriate and inadmissible HEARSAY!

[2] McHugh apparently has no sense of direction.  AMC UrgentCare is 7 miles South of the accident site. Polyak was not at UrgentCare prior to the accident.

[3] McHugh idiotically continues with his claim that the driver was asleep! It was 1:00 in the afternoon! Not 1:00 a.m. Polyak had driven about 6 miles from Coxsackie to Ravena AWAKE; why would he be asleep in the few seconds McHugh may have been able to observe him.

[4] Why would anyone ask Polyak where the other vehicle was? It’s stupid to even suggest that such a question was asked. It was obvious where the other vehicle was; no need to ask the question.

[5] This statement is totally moronic! First of all, how would McHugh know what Polyak said to the personnel from CapitalCare or the police? Second, Polyak had a face full of airbag! When the airbag deployed it would have likely obscured his vision if it didn’t knock him into next week. Polyak had the presence of mind to be able to regain control of his vehicle despite the airbag, and get it back into the right lane, even if he didn’t have complete control of his vehicle due to the extensive damage caused by the collision.

[6] McHugh’s current wife, Rosemary McHugh — he’s had several so far — isn’t the sharpest tack in the box. She does state that they were in the antique center parking lot, which contradicts McHugh’s statement that Polyak was asleep and hit them while they were in the left, southbound lane. See our reconstruction diagram for what witnesses saw.

[7] Of course Polyak applied his brakes! You don’t leave skid marks unless you apply the brakes. The first thing you do in such a situation is apply the brakes! If he hadn’t braked he’d have landed in Alcove! See the accident site photographs above.

[8] But there were skid marks right near a piece of Polyak’s wheel on the edge of the southbound lane, before Polyak guided his car onto the Urgent Care property. See our images, above.

 

Mr Sante Debacco Explains…

Mr Sante Debacco of the Village of Ravena Building Department has been very forthcoming and impressively so, with comments and responses to our articles “Is Nancy Warner Suffering PMM (Post-menopausal Mania) AGAIN?” and “Ravena Still Ignores Oaths of Office and Rights Protected by State and Federal Constitutions!!!” (called the “Hohman article” below). We have posted one of his emails and our comments in our article “Mr Sante Debacco of the Ravena Building Department Responds“, and are pleased to note that Mr Debacco AGREES with the majority of our statements. That should put to final rest any of the stupidity of doubters as to the factual basis of our articles. Here we have a long-time employee of the Village of Ravena Building Department and of the Town of Coeymans Building Department admitting in black and white that we are correct in what we had to say.

Although Mr Debacco erroneously placed his comments in response to the article primarily on Nancy Warner, he is aware of that error and explains that he intended the comments to go on the article about Mr Ron Hohman. You can read Mr Debacco’s comments in their unedited entirety in the Comments (bottom of the article) about Nancy Warner (here’s the link: Comments)

Mr Debacco’s most recent comment is most interested to our readers, because Mr Debacco explains some of the workings, if we can be so liberal to call them “workings,” that is, the operations of the Ravena Building Department, the roles of Mr Joe Burns, Mr Hohman and Mr Debacco, himself, the distinction between a State Code Enforcement Officer and a Village Code Enforcement Officer, and he confirms our statements made in the Hohman article.

We are publishing Mr Debacco’s most recent email/comment in its entirety simply because it is important for our readers, particularly our readers in the towns of Coeymans, New Baltimore, and the Village of Ravena, and any resident/property owner in the state of New York, for that matter, to know what Mr Debacco explains in his comment.

We are also publishing Mr Debacco’s statement in its entirety as well as his previous comments because it is so rare for a public employee to come forward and be so candidly honest about himself, his job, and the people he works with. That takes integrity and courage.

It’s the LAW.
Our rights are protected by the New York State Constitution and the Constitution of the United States!!!

---

Mr Debacco writes:

“Good Evening Editor of the Smalbany Blog,

“I would like to share some comments, or thoughts if you will, on the issue regarding the recent post about Village of Ravena Zoning Enforcement Official Ron Hohman. By the way – I am maintaining my vow not to read the blog for my own reasons, but I have no objection to you posting my comments on the blog.”

Mr Debacco had posted his previous comments on the “Is Nancy Warner Suffering PMM (Post-menopausal Mania) AGAIN?” page. That was in error but you can read all of his previous comments in the Comments section of that page.

“Mr. Hohman recently cited a property owner in the Village of Ravena a code violation regarding an unregistered vehicle, and discarded rubbish on the property. These citations were documented from the local laws and codes of the Village of Ravena. In our Building Department, Mr. Hohman is charged with the enforcement of Village of Ravena local laws. He [Mr Hohman]  is not a New York State certified code enforcement official, and cannot enforce the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code of New York State – Title 19 NYCRR. Only myself and Mr. Burns are charged with the enforcement of the State codes since we are certified by NYS as code enforcement officials. Mr. Hohman cannot issue building permits, conduct inspection of construction. He [Mr Hohman] can investigate complaints, but only complaints regarding the Village codes.” [Our emphasis]

Either Mr Debacco has knowledge of the case to which we refer in our article, “Ravena Still Ignores Oaths of Office and Rights Protected by State and Federal Constitutions!!!” or he is relying on the facts we reported in that article. The bottom line is that Mr Debacco is confirming that Mr Hohman’s authority is limited to only Village of Ravena local codes and laws.

Mr Debacco continues:

“However Mr. Hohman still must abide by protected constitutional rights of citizens. We are not allowed to enter private property without permission of the property owner. It is assumed that we can walk up to the front door of a building and knock on the door or ring a bell, but we are not allowed to walk around back per se without permission from the property owner. We are not allowed to enter into a dwelling unit without permission of the occupant of the dwelling. We can conduct legal inspections from the public right of way such as a sidewalk or street, and we can also conduct a legal inspection from a neighboring property, but the owner of that property must give us permission. The only time we can enter private property or enter someone’s dwelling unit, is during an emergency situation where the fire department or police department will allow us entry. The code enforcement official has the authority to obtain an administrative warrant to enter a property to conduct an inspection, but he/she must apply for such warrant at a local court where the property is located and must show cause.”

Again, Mr Debacco, a long-time employee of the Village of Ravena Building Department and a NYS certified code enforcement officer, confirms our statements in the Hohman article, that is, that Hohman must respect the protected rights of citizens. In other words, as we reported, no on may enter a resident’s or a citizen’s property without the citizen’s permission, or unless the official has a warrant or there is an emergency situation. Unless the official has the owner/occupant’s permission or a court order, the official cannot set foot on the property. Thank you, Mr Debacco, for confirming our report.

And again, Mr Debacco continues and confirms what we reported in the Hohlman article:

“I’m not sure what procedures Mr. Hohman followed the day of the visit to the Ravena property owner. I wasn’t around that day, and I didn’t hear anything about it at the office.

“In regards to the subjects of the violations, I cannot comment because I was not involved. I do agree with the old saying that “one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure”. The language in the codes is not really that cut and dry. Lots of room for interpretation. I don’t think that criminal charges for trespassing are warranted. In defense of Mr. Hohman, I believe there was no criminal intent on his part. I believe he was trying to his job, in the best way he thought he was able to.” [Our emphasis]

The law has no reliable way to adequately define a word like “rubbish”, as we have already stated in the Hohman article, and so that disposes of Hohman’s charge that there was anything objectionable in the resident’s yard. Hohman still has to explain how he made the observation on which he bases his charge, however. Even if he claims he did not enter the property and viewed the property from a neighboring property, he still has to prove he obtained the “neighbor’s” permission to enter their property. We don’t think That Mr Hohman is tall enough to make adequate observations over a 6 foot fence, though.

We also don’t agree that criminal intent absolves Mr Hohman from answering charges of trespass. Trespass does not require the intent to commit a crime and ignorance or over-zealousness does not absolve guilt. Think of it this way: You are driving down the road 10 miles over the posted speed limit and you are stopped by a law enforcement officer and ticketed for speeding. Your explanation is that you were not aware that you were speeding. That’s not going to save your sorry butt. You see, it is your responsibility to be in control of your vehicle and that includes knowing and obeying local laws and ordinances and state Vehicle and Traffic Laws, including speeding. It is your responsibility as an operator of a motor vehicle on pubic roadways and the excuse of not paying attention or ignorance is no defense. You will still have to face the consequences for your irresponsibility.

Same applies to Mr Hohman. He is responsible not only for knowing the Village of Ravena codes as they apply to buildings and properties in the Village, he must also be aware of the rights of residents and property owners and his limitations as a public official and employee. Whether or not he knew or did not know what he could or could not do is not a defense. He violated the law and cannot claim that his official duties protect him — they don’t — or that he was unaware of his limitations as to the rights of the public — ignorance is not a defense. So we disagree on this with Mr Debacco.

We feel that Mr Hohman has the duty, obligation and responsibility to know not only the codes but also what he can and cannot do under the law. He obviously broke the law and must now accept the consequences. The law does not apply differently to him because he is a public employee. There are not separate laws for Mr Hohman and others that apply to us common citizens. In fact, it is generally accepted that public servants must be held to a higher standard than private citizens because public servants are more visible and represent the common good. That applies equally to our judges and to our dog catchers and everyone in between. You break the law and you must be made an example. Period.

We continue to advise the property owner to file a criminal charge of trespass and violation of his protected rights under the New York State and United States constitutions. The local police chief, Coeymans Police Chief Daniel Contento must take the complaint, investigate to the extent that his own competence allows, and turn the matter over to the court for arraignment and hearing. An example must be made and other public employees put on notice.

Furthermore, given the facts and given Mr Debacco’s statements in his comments, we also feel that Mr Joseph Burns, Mr Debacco’s and Mr Hohman’s supervisor and the director of the Village of Ravena Building Department must be held accountable for Mr Hohman’s misconduct. It is Mr Burns’ responsiblility to ensure the lawful operations of his department and it is Mr Debacco’s duty and obligation to report any observed or suspected misconduct to Mr Burns so that Burns can investigate and take any necessary action. If Debacco fails to report such misconduct or his suspicion or knowledge to Burns, Debacco becomes an accessory to the misconduct and should be disciplined. Burns must keep records of all such incidents as well as any action taken by him in the case. If Burns does not keep adequate records, he becomes subject to discipline. Good recordkeeping is a requirement in public office, and the Office of the New York State Comptroller audits consistently look at the recordkeeping habits of local governments. So beware!

Watch your step, Mr Debacco; It’s a slippery slope.

“I would like to invite the editorial team to visit us some day at the Building Department offices, either in Ravena or Coeymans. Spend some time with us, spend a day or two with us. Tour our offices, perhaps do a ride-along when we go out in the field. See what we do. See what we can’t do. You will learn that we do not have an easy job. It can be stressful, controversial, and complicated. We probably are the least liked – for lack of a better term – out of any public employee. Many times I have been yelled at, scolded, given the finger, and even threatened with physical harm by the public for – what I thought – was just doing my job. And I’m only the part-timer: way down on the (Village and Town) food chain. Twice in my career I have been threatened where I had to file a “workplace violence incident report”. Maybe you are right. Maybe I really do work too much!”

It is very generous of Mr Debacco to invite us to visit the Village of Ravena Building Department and to accompany him on his rounds but truth be told we do not think that Mr Debacco has the authority to make such an invitation. That’s not to say that we are not appreciative of Mr Debacco’s generosity in extending an invitation to do so; we simply feel that you can’t invite someone into someone else’s home — that would be violating their protected rights — and Mr Debacco is only a part-time employee of the Ravena Village Department and as such, no matter how long he’s been there, does not give him the authority to invite outsiders to spend a day with the Department or to participate in a “ride-along” in the field. That would require Mr Burns’ and perhaps even higher authority’s permission. We would urge Mr Debacco to be more prudent and cautious in making such invitations.

As Mr Debacco admits in his comment his job is not the most popular one in the Village and he does admit that it can be “stressful, controversial and complicated.” But then so are many other jobs but that does not mean that you don’t have to obey the rules and the law. As we say: If it’s too hot in the kitchen, get out.”

Mr Debacco closes his comment with:

“Anyway – thank you again for your time this evening.
Sincerely,
Sante DeBacco
Sent from my iPhone”

Our recommendation to the Village of Ravena and to the Town of Coeymans is that you train your employees properly and avoid lawsuits (same would apply, Mr Jeff Ruso (R) and Mr Nick Dellisanti (R), to employees of the Town of New Baltimore). You can’t undo what has been done but you can make good faith efforts to avoid abuses in the future. (By the way, Ravena, Why? do you pay village shyster Michael Biscone, Ravena Village attorney, if the Village of Ravena continues to break the laws of the state and the nation? Paying him to park his fat arse and supply expensive lies is a bit of a waste of taxpayer dollars. Wouldn’t you agree?)

And we’d like to thank Mr Debacco sincerely for his straightforward and informative comments. We wish that other citizens and residents and ALL of our public employees — and wer’re thinking specifically of Mr Jeff Ruso, New Baltimore Town Supervisor, and his employees and elected officials; they don’t even respond to resident’s letters — would have the guts to do what Mr Debacco has done. But perhaps we are wishing too much!

From the Community!

The Editor

---

Editor’s Postscript

We’ve been asked to investigate two other matter in the Village of Ravena and the Town of Coeymans. Just to give our readers a Heads up! on what’s coming:

1. Driving through Faith Plaza, a heavily visited strip mall with Ravena Shop’n Save and CVS Pharmacy and other heavily trafficked businesses, we have been asked to investigate why the Village of Ravena and The Town of Coeymans have not taken steps to ensure the public’s safety by citing the owner of the Plaza for the incredibly dangerous condition of the parking lot. The potholes are so many and so deep that you could lose an 18-wheeler in one of them or a small child! After a rain the potholes are filled with water any if you should drive through one, you could lose a wheel. This is a condition that has been allowed to persist literally for years and nothing has been done about it. Where are you Village of Ravena and Town of Coeymans???
2. Heavy trucks, damaged streets and water infrastructure, hazardous curves, no traffic enforcement, and parking in Ravena is another question we’ve been asked to investigate, and one which we are currently investigating. Why are the heavy trucks going through the Village of Ravena in the first place? The Village has the power to restrict traffic and the New York State DOT would likely support the Village. So why is there all that dangerous heavy traffic? Why are certain business owners complaining about parking restrictions? Why hasn’t the Town of Coeymans and the Village of Ravena heeded the advice of a veteran professional law enforcement officer about the dangerous conditions? We will answer these questions, name names, Name to Shame, and expose the lies and half-truths about the parking situation in Ravena. One big question is who owns the parking lot across from the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Patrick in Ravena where the sign reads “Church Parking Only”? Lots of questions and we’re getting the answers.
3. What’s the problem in the Town of New Baltimore where elected officials, including the New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso and his deputy Nick Dellisanti, Sole Assessor Gordon Bennett, New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review Chairperson Donna Degnen, New Baltimore Animal Control Officer Joseph “Joe” Tanner, the New Baltimore Code Enforcement/Building Inspector currently Allan Jourdin, the Acting [Deputy] Superintendent of Highways Scott vanWormer and others have ignored and refused to answer residents’ correspondence and questions. How dare they ignore residents’ letters asking for answers to important questions!!! They have a duty and an obligation to respond, even if the truth threatens their Mickey Mouse political ambitions. 

 

Ravena Still Ignores Oaths of Office and Rights Protected by State and Federal Constitutions!!!

We have just received a report from a resident and property owner in the Village of Ravena. It looks like elected officials and public servants are again playing their Gestapo games and ignoring residents’ rights and the laws of this state and country. This resident is one of the few that actually came forward with his experiences. We have spoken to a number of others who have similar stories of Ravena’s targeting residents for everything from a children’s swimming pool on their property to “discarded rubbish,” without any further specifics.

Science has shown that incest can generate stupid people. That may explain Ravena Village Hall.

We have reported in the past about Ravena’s in-crowd and their total disconcern for the rights of residents and citizens. Here’s what our reader writes about one of the more recent violations of guaranteed and protected rights by our self-important public servants of nepotism, conspiracy, and conflicts of interests.

Our reader writes:

It’s been a long time since I’ve contacted the Editor and left a comment on the Smalbany blog. I think I’ll call this “Full circle.” Yesterday I received what appears to be two citations in the mail from the village of Ravena apparently notifying me of code violations.

For your information and as illustrations, I am also providing you by emailing you a copy of the correspondence and pictures of what the Code Enforcement officer is referring to. It’s pretty much self explanatory that Mr. Ron Hohman, so-called Zoning Enforcement Officer, is a bit ignorant and illiterate. He’s also in violation of his oath of office because he’s violated the protected rights assured by the New York State and the United States Constitution, both of which he’s sworn to support. I guess he’s overlooked the 14th amendment and the laws relating to violations of private property rights.

As you can see in one of the notices, he’s concerned about a vehicle parked in my driveway in the back of my building. The other violation” cites so called “discarded rubbish.” Any property in the back of my building is far from “discarded rubbish,” and I do take offence that Mr. Hohman, overreaching his authorities and unlawfully entering my private property, further offends me by describing my property as “discarded rubbish.” First of all, who is Mr. Hohman to decide what is “discarded” and what is “rubbish.” Being the curious person I am, I went to Ravena Village Hall to ask them what their official definition of “rubbish” might be, simply commenting that the violation is so vague, and I couldn’t find any “discarded rubbish” on my property.

Mr. Hohman’s notification of a zoning violation because I have an unplated vehicle on my property, in my driveway, and the suggestion that it is not operating or roadworthy, raised other questions. First of all, Is Mr. Hohman a qualified automotive mechanic? Did he make an inspection of the vehicle to determine whether it operates or not? Highly unlikely on both counts. I am also concerned that Mr. Hohman actually entered my property to obtain the Vehicle Identification Number from the registration sticker, something that is invisible from the street and you’d have to get up real close to be able to see it. In other words, Mr. Hohman trespassed on my private property to get the VIN. Violation of my protected constitutional rights and something that will have repercussions very soon in terms of criminal charges.

But what has the vehicle to do with the zoning status of my property? Obviously, Mr. Hohman and the Village of Ravena have opened a can of worms, AGAIN! I had and still have a lot of unanswered questions.

I have lived in the Village of Ravena for more than 25 years, I am a responsible property owner, and a participating member of my community. I am respectful and courteous to everyone. I think I’m not asking too much for respect and courtesy from my elected officials and our public servants. I reasonably expected the courtesy of a knock on the door, perhaps? Is that too much to ask, Mr. Hohman? On the day the notifications were issued, that is, if the date of August 1, 2018, is truthful, I was home all day and nobody knocked on my door, least of all Mr. Hohman from the Village, to get permission to be on my property or even to talk to me informally about any suspected violations. Furthermore, the only way to get any facts or information for both alleged “violations,” if they are violations at all, was that Hohman had to accessed my property to see what’s actually behind a 6ft fence! How does Hohman justfy this criminal trespassing? Hohman had to go to some trouble to see around the neatly arranged trash containers at the edge of my property.

Back to my “Full Circle” quote. The reason why I’m saying “full circle” because some 25 years ago the Ravena Zoning Board held a meeting and then a special meaning about my property without my knowledge or inviting me to comment, again yet another violation of the right of due process and fair hearing. Ravena has a long history of violating constitutional and protected rights: They accused me, tried me, convicted me, and then sent me my sentence without fair hearing. That’s Ravena for you. My attorney at the time, an now retired, read them the riot act in a letter informing them that their conduct was a gross violation of my constitutional rights. They have very short memories apparently.

You’ve written a lot about the Village of Ravena and the Town of Coeymans’ violation of citizens’ and residents’ rights without any form of due process or concern for the New York State or United States Constitutions and the Bill of Rights. They have sworn oaths to support the constitutions and thus to defend our rights and the laws of the state of New York and this great country, but they ignore their duties, their obligations, and their oaths of office. It’s become commonplace in Ravena and the surrounding area and it has to stop. We have rights as citizens and we all deserve due process and fair hearing, it’s guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution!

I look forward chatting with you because you can’t make this stuff up, and the pictures and the violations speak for themselves.

Letters from Mr Ron Hohman, Village of Ravena Code/Zoning Enforcement Officer.

The laws simply do not use the word “rubbish”

We’ve done our research and wanted to know first of all what “discarded rubbish” is supposed to mean. There are two problems with Mr Hohman’s use of the phrase: Firstly, rubbish is not a legal term with a reliable definition. if you look for a legal definition of “rubbish” you’ll probably be redirected to the legal notion of “waste,” as in “solid waste” etc. The laws simply do not use the word “rubbish,” so we can say that the use of the undefined term in the notification has no legal impact or effect.

Resident’s Back Yard Seen from Street. No “rubbish.”

Waste is actually a subjective concept, because things that some people discard may be of value to others

In fact, our research shows that “waste” refers to unwanted substances that people generally tend to dump.  Depending upon the locale and common language waste is also sometimes referred to as rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk. One point is very clear, though, waste is actually a subjective concept, because things that some people discard may be of value to others. It is a natural part of the ecological cycle. It is created when living organisms take in materials and excrete them after use. Waste can be recycled by other living organisms. Discarded home appliances, kitchen waste, sewage sludge, manufacturing waste, packaging waste, old paint containers, biological waste, and hospital waste are all examples of waste. Waste is classified into different types based upon their sources and nature. Solid waste, biodegradable waste, hazardous waste, medical waste, e-waste, yard waste, construction and demolition waste, agricultural waste, and mining waste are the different types of waste.

Resident’s Back Yard viewed from 2nd floor porch. No “rubbish.”

Ravena Code Enforcement Officer Ron Hohman makes no sense.

Another question that arises is how Mr Hohman determined that whatever it is he is referring to as “rubbish,” or more properly put, waste, is in fact “discarded.” Discarded means “unwanted,” “dumped,” “junked,” etc. Fact is, Hohman has no way of knowing whether anything at all is “rubbish” in terms of being “waste,” and furthermore, Hohman has no way of knowing that the property to which his is referring as being “rubbish” has actually been “discarded.” Hohman makes no sense. But that’s not surprising for Ravena and its neighbors.

The other troubling question is Mr Hohman’s concern about a vehicle parked lawfully on private property and Hohman’s wild speculations that the vehicle violates the law by simply being in the resident’s driveway. Hohman does this without any further inquiry or discussion. That’s absolutely offensive by any standard!

The offending vehicle, parked lawfully on the resident’s property, in his private driveway.

In short, Mr Ron Hohman has his head up his arse because he is assuming with no factual basis that the vehicle on the resident’s property is an abandoned, junked, partially dismantled, etc. vehicle under the provisions of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law!!!

We have personally visited the resident’s property to verify the images sent and to examine the correspondence received from the Village of Ravena and Mr Ron Hohman, Village of Ravena Code/Zoning Enforcement Officer.

Pull Your Head Out, Hohman!!!

We found the vehicle to be in good condition and would never qualify as abandoned, discarded, junked, or partially dismantled. In fact, it’s quite a nice vehicle. We are informed that it belongs to the resident’s daughter who has been saving to manage insurance, registration and putting it on the road. Is that a violation, we ask? We also suspect that Mr Hohman in his haste to get a violation while violating the resident’s protected rights and trespassing on the property, actually missed the dealer’s plates on the front seat of the vehicle. We didn’t miss them. Did you miss those plates Mr Hohman? Or do you expect that they should have been on the vehicle so that they could be stolen, and the Coeymans police investigation allowed to go cold without an arrest or recovery of the plates. 

Maybe Ron Holman has better credentials than a NYS licenced motor vehicle inspector; maybe that’s how he knows the condition of the vehicle. NOT!!!

Oh! Did we neglect to mention that the property owner’s son is an automotive mechanic with licences for several classes of vehicles as a State Motor Vehicle Inspector? And that he drove the vehicle to it’s present location? Did we fail to mention that insignificant fact? But then, maybe Mr Holman has better qualifications to determining whether a vehicle is junk or roadworthy. Got a response, Ronny-boy?

As for the “discarded rubbish” to which Mr Hohman refers, we were unable to find any discarded anything on the property, much less anything that would qualify as “rubbish,” “trash,” “garbage,” or “waste.” In fact, the pictures provided by the resident are clear and factual: There are household items belonging to the resident, his family, and his tenants, including several functional grills. There are some spare parts arranged on a workbench, a tire leaning up against the building, and several containers. No rubbish. Nothing that appeared that it should be discarded. In fact, what we saw had value, was usable, and had every right to be stored neatly in a resident’s back yard, on his private property, without being a nuisance or an eyesore to anyone, especially given the fact that it is actually surrounded by a six-foot fence!!!

So, in conclusion, we have to ask what Mr Hohman’s game is? Does he have an ax to grind? Does someone in Ravena Village Hall have an ax to grind? Does Mr Hohman have to justify his job and “create” violations where there are none? And why is it necessary for Mr Hohman to break the law and violate a resident’s, a citizen’s protected rights to cook up some sort of idiotic and unfounded “violations”?  We’ll be investigating these questions in more depth and will report on our findings. First of all, we’ll find out more about this character Ron Hohman and get some background on him. Something’s fishy here AGAIN and we will get to the bottom of the stinking pond called Ravena, and find out what the bottom-feeders in Ravena Town Hall are up to. Stay tuned!

We’ll get to the bottom of this.
The Editor

Editor’s Note: Unlike Mr Holman, Ravena’s roving public servant terrorist, we obtained the property owner’s permission to visit and view his property.

 

 

Changing the Subject for a Moment…Let’s talk about Nancy Warner.

We figure you must be a bit tired of reading about rogue cop s and animal abuse, so we’re going to change the subject for a moment.

Let’s Talk About Nancy Warner and Irresponsibility and Corruption.

Nancy Warner: Lean and Mean behind the Ravena Dem Machine.
(The hill-town version of angry-old-woman Nancy Pelosi)

When we talk about the failure of local government, we cannot avoid thinking of the Village of Ravena, New York, a nest of political incest if there ever was one.

The recent raccoon incident calls to mind Nancy Warner, a trustee, that is, a member of the Ravena Village council, and her history of idiotic pet programs and wasteful agendas. Warner is a relic from the past, from the “Mummy Mayor” era, and has a reputation for being a veritable Witch-on-a-Stick (we all know where the stick is, too). She likes her little coven of idiots; We all know the saying “In the village of the blind the one-eyed man is mayor.” Well in a village of halfwits, the idiot is wannabe mayor.

---

The Raccoon PETITION got 1.6 million likes on Facebook! As of this writing (March 26, 2018), the “Justice for raccoon killed by officers from Coeymans Police Department in New York State” petition on Care2 now has 88,060 signatures of which 10,589 are from New York. The goal was 85,000 but the response was so great we’re looking for 90,000 signatures! Express your outrage and add your signature here. Please help get us to the goal of 90,000 protest voices!!!

One of the Coeymans Police officers driving one of the vehicles involved in the scandalous incident has been identified. Click here.

---

Ravena Village Trustee Nancy Warner in conference with Ravena Mayor “Mouse” Misuraca.

But let’s get back to the point. The recent raccoon scandal that was perpetrated by two Coeymans police personnel at Ravena’s trashy Faith Plaza, brought to light a number of problems. Of course, the first problem is making sense of how two alleged qualified law enforcement personnel could harass, terrorize and kill (by running it over after some 15 minutes of torturing it) a wild raccoon, and do this in a crowded parking lot to the absolute disgust and horror of dozens of people. The Coeymans police response: ‘They had to use their vehicles to ensure the public’s safety.’ This situation becomes even more bizarre when you think that the scandalous scene was perped not by one idiot in one vehicle, who we then could say was just stupid and have done with it, it was two idiots in two separate vehicles. We’d love to hear the radio exchange between the two morons as they got their perverse rocks off killing the raccoon. That chapter has not yet ended and we’re following it closely.

The trashy Faith Plaza in Ravena. Home of Shop’n Save, CVS, and Dolan’s Choices program. Owned by the “Christian” Aaron Flach family of Ravena.

This all happened because a caller from the Ravena CVS at Faith Plaza noted the raccoon “trying to get into the building.” The conclusion was not that the animal was hungry, curious, but that it had to be “rabid.” A call goes into the Albany County 911 Center, which routes it then to the Coeymans Police and, well, the whole world knows the rest of the story. (For details on how owner of Faith Plaza, Aaron Flach responded, please see the Hudson Valley 360 article, “Petition calls for disciplinary action for raccoon killing,” of March 18, 2018, the updated petition has 83,777 (9,620 in New York) as of March 23, 2018.)

Crandall has been cutting the police budget since day 1 of his taking office

When cornered, Coeymans Town Supervisor, Phil Crandal states that “the call should never have been given to the Coeymans police,” but Mr Crandall doesn’t say to whom the call should have gone. The Coeymans Police Law Enforcement Manual states clearly that animal control calls should go to the Animal Control Officer. The problem is that the Town of Coeymans doesn’t have an Animal Control Officer, and the Manual hasn’t been updated since 1998 (neither have the other chapters in the “Town of Coeymans Police and Village of Ravena Police” Administrative Manual, such as Traffic Operations or Recruitment/Promotion, etc.).Problem is, Crandall has been cutting the police budget since day 1 of his taking office.

The Village of Ravena Abolished its Police Department in 2006

But Ravena does not have a police department, it was abolished in 2006! Here’s the official act abolishing it on January 17, 2006:

Article II:
Abolishment of Police Department
[Adopted 1-17-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006[1]]
Editor’s Note: This local law also stated that it shall take effect 30 days after its enactment and is subject to permissive referendum. This local law was approved by the majority of the electors voting in the general election held 3-21-2006.
§ 22-6
Department abolished.
The Police Department of the Village of Ravena is hereby abolished.

The reason: to reduce costs involved with the operation of the Ravena Police Department. The result: The Coeymans Police Department took over law enforcement jurisdiction in the territory of the Village of Ravena.

Neither the Village of Ravena nor the Town of Coeymans has an Animal Control Officer

In the meantime, neither the Village of Ravena nor the Town of Coeymans have animal control officers, full-time or part-time. Again, the positions were eliminated for fiscal reasons. Eliminated to save money, that is. But while the Ravena Village Council and the Town of Coeymans are cutting public safety positions to save bucks, the Village of Ravena has no scruples wasting taxpayer dollars to pad the pockets of village “friends.” We’re referring to Nancy Warner’s pet project, the Ravena Fitness Center, for which the village of Ravena shelled out more than $40,000 to village “friend” and insider, Robert “Bob” Fisk — Fisk at the time wasn’t even living in Ravena, he was in Florida! —, for used fitness equipment from his defunct fitness center, previously mismanaged and failed under Guess who? Jerry “Dirty-Hands” Deluca’s partner, Cathy Deluca. Warner promptly handed over the Ravena Fitness Center to none other than fitness-club-failure-expert, Cathy Deluca. In the two years that Deluca ran the Ravena Fitness Center, the Center lost at least $115,000 a year!!! All Ravena taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, the Center failed after a short period of Deluca’s mismanagement. Deluca got paid and Carver Laraway did the village a favor by buying the equipment for pennies on the taxpayer dollar.

Nancy Warner’s Response to Ravena and Coeymans Residents.

We mention the history of the Ravena Fitness Center for two reasons: Nancy Warner’s stupidity and fiscal irresponsibility, and Nancy Warner’s corrupt practices in doing favors for the Ravena Incest Club, friends of the administration. Nancy Warner was also behind the harassment of local youth by the Coeymans Police for hanging around the village gazebo (which has since been removed), and for her involvement with then Coeymans police chief Gregory Darlington and Coeymans cop Jerry “Dirty-Hands” Deluca for a number of violations of civil and constitutional protected rights.

And a bit THANK YOU! to Mr LP of Ravena for reminding us that it was at Nancy Warner’s urging that the RCS Community Library was thrown out of the space to make it available for Cathy Deluca’s most recent failure, the Ravena Fitness Center. Not only did Warner urge the Village Board to evict the Community Library, while insiders Persicos were “renovating” the Library’s new digs, Warner actually punished the Community Library for not moving out by raising the Library’s monthly rent!!! Warner raises the Library’s rent and the money comes out of community and children’s programs but that doesn’t matter to someone like Nancy Warner and her pack of flying monkeys! She was sending Darlington, Deluca, and Johnson  of the Coeymans Police Department out to harass the kids on the street, and you think she’d want them to be in a library? That’s not the way she works. Nancy Warner works by screwing the community and taking care of her friends in the Ravena-Coeymans Incest Club! Typical of any fascist regime — and fascist is the most accurate description of Warner’s little nest in Village Hall with it’s figure-head mayor, Mouse Misuraca — Nancy Warner has no use for intelligence or education; after all, a stupid population is easier to control than an intelligent one. How quickly we forget, people!

Nancy Warner sending out her Monkey-Pets in the Darlington-Deluca Coeymans PD to harass local youth. One scandal after the other! Does it ever end?

Nancy Warner’s husband Harold “Hal” Warner, a sitting Village justice, is the man behind the backstabbing of then part-time village justice and full-time Coeymans town justice, Phil Crandall, resulting in Crandall’s forced resignation in disgrace from the elected judgeships. Nancy Warner, at the time, “supervised” her own husband’s court operations.

Ravena Village Justice Hal Warner disgracing the American Flag (Warner is in the foreground).

 

No story about Nancy Warner would be complete without mentioning her pet rodent, Mayor Bill “Mouse” Misuraca.

The Nancy and Hal Warner are democrats as is Phil Crandall, but given their history, do you wonder that there’s no dialogue and only animosity between The Village of Ravena and the Town of Coeymans? We tend to think that the two communities,separated only by an immaginary line — they were once a single municipality, Ravena-Coeymans, until divided into the Village of Ravena and the Hamlet of Coeymans — but even so, the Town of Coeymans offices are actually still located in the Village of Ravena, on Russell Avenue! Go figure!!!

Since March 20, 2018, the entire Ravena village board has been packed with Democrats, all under the heavy hand of Nancy Warner; the only Republican on the Ravena village board is Mayor Bill “Mouse” Misuraca, elected by his loyal barroom customers and perhaps a couple of dyed-in-the-wool die-hard Republicans still allowed to live in the Village of Ravena. That probably makes no difference anyway, since Misuraca is totally ineffectual — unless it’s tapping a beer keg or pouring a shot– and Warner ran things anyway, witch that she is.

So, people, what does this mean for the perennial problems plaguing the neighbors Ravena and Coeymans, such as water, sewerage, law enforcement, animal control? Well, the picture ain’t pretty, as you can well imagine. But ask Town Supervisor Phil Crandall and he’ll tell you, “Put that in an email or a letter and get it to me.” That’s where it will die.

With Democraps commandeering both Ravena and Coeymans boards but with the seething and roiling hatred between top elected officials, Warner and Crandall, the residents and taxpayers will continue to be victimized by the self-serving, corrupt and incompetent Village and Town Halls.

The recent raccoon scandal brought the historical scandal to light but this time it came to light on a never-before-experienced scale; this time it’s international.

So Ravena abolishes its police department to save money. Both Ravena and Coeymans abolish animal control to save money. Both law enforcement and animal control are public safety services.But that doesn’t stop Ravena (Warner) or Coeymans (Crandall) from spending on their pet projects!

Ravena, under Warner’s dictatorship, finds the money to fund a Ravena Fitness Center, and to take a load of used fitness equipment off a friend’s — that is, Bob Fisk’s — hands to the tune of more than $40,000. She then hands over a large portion of Ravena Village Hall to her friend Cathy Deluca, and approves a handsome salary for Deluca to manage the facility. Deluca manages the facility over a period of two years right into oblivion, as she had done with two previous fitness clubs she had “managed.” A fine example of local government’s idea of fiscal responsibility, right?

After Nancy Warner’s husband, Hal Warner, forced his fellow justice, Phil Crandall, into disgraced resignation, Crandall, banned forever from running again for judicial office because of his corruption — in which Coeymans board member Tom Dolan and Albnay County legislator, Richard Touchette were recipients — and ethical violations while a judge, now runs for public office, for the office of Coeymans Town Supervisor.

Nancy Warner was/is breast-to-breast, vag-to-vag with Cathy Deluca and Jerry “Dirty-Hands” Deluca

Cathy Deluca
Who does your hair, sistuh?

You’ll need a little background to understand Crandall’s hatred for the Coeymans Police Department and why Crandall did everything possible to drive any competent leadership from the Coeymans Police Department. Crandall’s vendetta has its roots deep in the Warner-Deluca conspiracies. You see, Nancy Warner was/is breast-to-breast, vag-to-vag with Cathy Deluca and Jerry “Dirty-Hands” Deluca, who, in turn were in a love-fest with Gregory “Dumplin” Darlington. When Hal Warner disposed of Crandall, this Warner-Deluca-Darlington love triangle was going full-throttle, until their activities were getting too hot to handle and Darlington and Deluca had to go — either just go, or go to jail. Now that the Delucas and the Darlingtons were sufficiently disgraced and out of the public picture, the scene was set for the Warner-Crandall wars.(It’s also interesting that Carmen Warner was fired from the Albany DA’s office and Leah Darlington left the DA’s office shortly thereafter to take a position as a secretary with Tom Dolan’s Choices program. Was it getting too risky for Albany County DA David Soares to have these liabilities in his office?) Just one more objective was left for Crandall — and he’s very near successful — that is, getting rid of the Coeymans Police Department.

Jerry “Dirty-Hands” Deluca.
Now with the New York State Fire Chiefs Association.

Phil Crandal is a retired prison guard and brings all the charm and refinement of a prison guard personality to Coeymans Town Hall.

But Crandall is no prize when it comes to human relations and fiscal responsibility. First of all, he’s a retired prison guard and brings all the charm and refinement of a prison guard personality to Coeymans Town Hall. Secondly, he’s surrounded himself either with a harem of paid women or a coterie of recycled political losers like Jim Youmans (used car salesman, lost a previous election then ran again under Crandall) and Tom Dolan (director of the Ravena CHOICES program, another political loser). Dolan and Rick Touchette (director of the notorious Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Cemeteries, and recently “elected” to the Albany County Legislature) were both involved in the corruption and unethical activities that led to Crandall’s disgrace, Touchette and Dolan having received favors from Crandall while he was a judge. Touchette was part of the gang, too.

Crandall likes to hire consultants, clerks and secretaries for the Supervisor’s office

As we noted above, Crandall also likes to cut budgets to pad his office staff. He likes to hire consultants, clerks and secretaries for the Supervisor’s office, but likes to cut police and other budgets to save money (for his projects and friends). When cornered for answers, Crandall’s stock response is “send me an email” or “put that in a letter.”

A Lot of Finger-pointing going on right now in Ravena and Coeymans.

So we now have a scandal built up around the unfortunate fate of a wild raccoon who happened to be in the same space as two rogue Coeymans police idiots. The actors in this comedy of errors happen to be two Coeymans police personnel, admittedly morons, and a raccoon, at the time “presumed” to be a little too curious, a little too friendly, and thus “rabid.” Crandall has his moment pointing the finger at the bad cops and promising an investigation and accountability. Bravo, you stinker! Acting Coeymans Chief of Police, Daniel Contento, asking himself how’d I get into this position and what’s going to happen with my pension? Mayor “Mouse” Misuraca stands back and claims to be an animal lover and not to have any power or authority over the Coeymans Police, uses that simplistic mantra to get his useless ass re-elected. Nancy and Hal Warner are delighting that arch-enemy Phil Crandall has a scandal on his hands — again — and the public’s eye is on him, not on them.

Our burning question is this: Where is the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the Office of the Albany County District Attorney, the Office of the New York State Attorney General, and the FBI while all of this public corruption and abuse of public office is going on in broad daylight and has been going on for decades?

We think it’s high time for a lot of audits, investigations, indictments, prosecutions, and convictions. What do you think?

We’ll be asking similar questions about the New Baltimore town government, the New Baltimore Highway Department, and their ineffective and corrupt operations in an upcoming article. The situation, therefore, doesn’t appear to be isolated only to Ravena and Coeymans; it appears to be contagious, a sort of rabies that infects neighboring local governments like Ravena/Coeymans and New Baltimore. Maybe we can find two morons to run them over, too?

WE REALLY HOPE THE TWO IDIOT COPS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED AND ARE NOT STILL OUT THERE ON OUR STREETS!!!

NEXT STEPS:

RECALL PHIL CRANDALL; REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE
ABOLISH THE COEYMANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATE NANCY WARNER AND THE RAVENA VILLAGE BOARD
PROSECUTE THE ROGUE COPS
CLEAN UP THE COMMUNITY — CREATE A LOCAL WATCHDOG GROUP
MAKE THE ALBANY COUNTY DA P. DAVID SOARES ACCOUNTABLE

On Friday, March 23, 2018, three RCS high school  students were reported to be “joking” about coming into the high school and shooting it up. Click here.

 

Jim Youmans Needs to Apologize or Resign: Bully, Coward, and Abuser of Women

Bullies are Cowards: What more can we say about Jim Youmans?

Disgraced Judge Crandall Coeymans Town Supervisor

Bully Youmans Town Councilman

Actually, quite a bit. But what we have to say about Jim Youmans probably reflects just as poorly on the voters in the Town of Coeymans. Why? Because you rid yourselves of Youmans several years ago but put the failed former supervisor back on the Coeymans Town Board. How’s that for stupidity?  What’s even worse is that along with Youmans, you put a disgraced village justice, who was disciplined by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and was banned for life from running for any judgeship again, but you took that disgraced politician and made him Coeymans Town Supervisor. Yeah! Phil Crandall! (Click here to read a recent article on the Crandallites and Youmans.)

And now we’re in a presidential election year and we’re faced with two lunatics who want to be POTUS (President of the United States).

As one local resident, Laszlo Polyak, puts it:
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are pilots.
Hillary is piloting the Titanic and Trump is piloting the Hindeburg.
Our choice in November is:
Do we want to sink and drown or do we want to crash and burn?
Those are our choices?

It seems that the saying is true that local politics forewarns national politics. Why? Because we have two presidential candidates: neither of them is presidential: one is reputed to be a liar and the other a brute. Now compare that to Coeymans and we have a liar, Phil Crandall, and a brute, Jim Youmans. Unfortunately, Crandall and Youmans are both on the Coeymans town board and the damage they can do is further compounded by the fact that they have Coeymans’ own version of a dotty Bernie Sanders in the person of Dithering Tom Dolan. Our concern here, though, is the bully coward Jim Youmans, a disgrace to the Town of Coeymans.

Youmans is a used car salesman — Really!!! — and if that doesn’t scare the living bejezuz out of you, his reputation should. It seems Youmans hasn’t learned a thing since he was tossed out of the Coeymans town supervisor’s office in 2012. Back then he was known to bully fellow board members and he was especially brutal to female employees. In fact, when he was elected to the town board in 2014, one of the female town employees broke out in tears in anticipation of what the future held for them in Town Hall. Now is that right? Is that what Coeymans is all about? If it is you certainly have something to be ashamed of…starting with Jim Youmans.

Coeymans should be kissing any business owner’s ass just for being in Coeymans!!!

All history? Not at all. Just as a leopard can’t change his spots, Youmans can’t change his character; he’s still a bully and a coward. Here’s a recent incident we’ve received a report on:

This should have been Jim Youmans political career!

A local business woman who, together with her family owns quite a lot of property in Coeymans, and who is doing a lot to clean up some of the eyesores that Crandall, Youmans and their cronies seem to be creating in Coeymans (just check out Coeymans Hamlet if you haven’t done so recently). The woman and her family recently made several requests to the Coeymans Building Department Officer, John Cashin. One of those requests was regarding verification of the number of occupancy units in one property and the other was relating to water and sewer bills. Occupancy and water and sewer seem to be the perennial open sores in Coeymans but so is incompetence in Town Hall, too.

Well, Mr Cashin didn’t seem to be able to manage the simple English that was involved in the requests, and managed to confuse the two in his response. Seems he’s having some difficulty with the word “temporary.” The word “temporary” means ‘of short or limited duration; not permanent,” if that helps, Mr Cashin. But at least Mr Cashin is reasonably courteous, even if he’s not a rocket scientist and a bit thick.

But Hey! Coeymans, you guys put those dumbasses where they are.

Estrogen-Man:
Abusive men usually are hiding their inner woman.

We’ve read the resident’s correspondence to the Town of Coeymans in which the resident is asking for clarification of what the Town is doing with the request since April of this year. We gather from the correspondence that no one, elected or employee, has much of a clue what is going on. The resident’s request has been bounced from the Town of Coeymans Board to the Village of Ravena, back to the Town of Coeymans. In the meantime, the resident is attempting to pay a tax bill! Of course, as many of you property owners in the Town of Coeymans and the Village of Ravena know, neither the Town of Coeymans nor the Village of Ravena have ever been able to sort out anything with regard to water and sewer bills! It’s just a vicious circle and many residents are infuriated by the incompetence and indifference in Town and Village Hall! Unfortunately, Mr Cashin, too, is afflicted with dyslexia and overall confusion. Listening and understanding don’t seem to be nor have they ever been a strong point in Ravena and Coeymans. But Hey! Coeymans, you guys put those dumbasses where they are.

But back to Bully Jim Youmans. John Cashin is the town employee responsible for building issues, and he’s the town officer who should be responding and cooperating with the resident business owner to resolve this issue in a fair and just manner.

Youmans: “Pay up[,] crazy lady.”

If you said that to a man, Youmans, you’d be brushing your teeth in your butthole!

Coeymans Town Board Member

After all, Coeymans should be kissing any business owner’s ass just for being in Coeymans!!! Crandall, to his credit — probably because he hasn’t a clue how to answer otherwise — correctly passed the resident’s correspondence to Cashin, who responded, albeit a bit confusedly, he did respond incorrectly but respectfully. But here’s were bully-coward Jim Youmans has to get his fat ass involved, and adds his abusive two cents: Youmans somehow manages to absurdly respond to Cashin’s email to the resident and in a two-sentence regurgitation of stupidity and abuse writes: “Pay up crazy lady” and signs his stupidity with James C. Youmans, Councilman, Town of Coeymans. That says it all for Coeymans and its town board. What’s worse is that Youman’s cc’ed practically the entire town hall with his stupid abuse!

We’ve reminded Coeymans voters again and again of the kind of people they’ve been putting in office, while asking “How can you be so stupid?” Perhaps we have the answer when we just consider the simple fact that perhaps these jackasses in Town and Village Hall are, in fact, representative of the people of Ravena and Coeymans, with very few exceptions. Maybe WE are missing the forest because of the trees. People like Youmans, Crandall, Dolan, Warner, Misuraca are in office because they truly represent the people of Ravena and Coeymans. Hear the banjos yet?

What Youmans seems to forget is that he is a public servant. What he seems to have forgotten or never knew in the first place is that we expect him to respect residents and to do everything possible to be helpful to residents and businesses. Youmans, however, continues to be the ignorant brute he has always been. He’s a bully, a coward, an abuser of women, and a boil on Coeymans’ ass. He needs to go!

Youmans on Coeymans

We demand that he make a public formal apology to the woman he refers to as “crazy lady.” We don’t need a disrespectful, ungrateful bully on our town board. Either the Supervisor or the entire board must demand he apologize, or they must distance themselves from him. He should be shunned by the community for his disrespect of women and his disgrace of the office of Town Councilman.

We demand that Jim Youmans make a written public apology for his disrespect of a woman business owner!

It’s like we took two steps forward when we rid Coeymans and Ravena of the likes of Dumplin’ Gregory Darlington and his darlings Dirty Hands Jerry and Cathy Deluca, and dumped Tom Boehm. But now it looks like we took three steps backward, and we have three replacement clowns: Crandall, Youmans, and Dolan (again!). Will it ever get better? At least Coeymans knows how to recycle its trash.

Recycled Coeymans Trash:
Youmans, Crandall, Dolan

 

Laszlo Polyak Running for Ravena Village Justice, as Write-in

Ravena voters have the chance on March 15 to finish cleaning up Ravena village hall and sweeping out the last bits of garbage left after Ravena voters gave mummy mayor John Bruno the boot. On March 15 Ravena voters can put Nancy Warner and her corrupt hubby, Harold “Hal” Warner, at the curbside for pick-up by County Waste, and complete the Village Hall Clean-up started two years ago.

Vote Laszlo Polyak, Village Justice, Write-in Candidate!

It’s official: Laszlo Polyak, a familiar resident advocate for fairness and protecting RCS kids, is running for the office of Ravena village justice on March 15. It’s been kept hush-hush til now because Laszlo’s supporters wanted to avoid the vile tactics so well-known in local elections in RCS and the lies and ambush methods so well-known in the Warner circle of fiends. Laszlo’s supporters’ stealth tactics should pay off because Nasty-Nancy and Hooligan-Hal and their mob won’t have much time to lauch their mud-slinging and filth.

The Warners, the husband and wife pair, have been haunting village hall at both ends of local government: the village hall office and the village court, where they have been able to intimidate and mess with residents and even outsiders in the court, to serve and protect their friends and supporters. This corruption has to stop and Ravena village voters will have the chance on March 15th to get rid of both of them in one election.

Don’t forget how Nancy Warner conspired with the Delucas (Cathy and Dirty-Hands Jerry) and John Bruno to harass Ravena teenagers and violate their civil rights; how hard Nancy and her mob worked to kill the Teen Activities Center; how Nancy Warner and her mob spent $40,000 of Ravena taxpayer money to buy Bob Fisk’s scrap metal fitness equipment; how Nancy Warner and her mob kept her bosom buddy Cathy Deluca in a job at the cost of more than $100,000 a year of Ravena taxpayer dollars, and Cathy Deluca managed a third fitness center into failure! All at Ravena taxpayer expense. Only Nancy Warner’s friends get taxpayer dollars.

And do we have to remind our readers and Ravena voters of the fact that it was Nancy Warner who wanted the RCS Community Library out of their space in the village hall building so that Cathy Deluca’s fitness center could move in? Have you forgotten how hard Nancy Warner and her mob worked to EVICT the library. Have you forgotten that Nancy Warner and her mob raised the library’s rent by more than $700 while they were waiting for Persico to finish the new library? By the way, by increasing the library’s rent by an additional $700 Warner and her mob was eating up the library’s budget and punishing the community. Is that the kind of local government you want to keep?

And lets not forget Hal Warner’s special brand of justice: retaliative justice. He uses his corrupt version of justice to take personal revenge. Let’s not forget the Warners daughter, Carmen Warner, who was disgraced when she was fired from P. David Soares’, Albany County District Attorney, for posting indecent pictures of herself and her girlfriend on Facebook. If Carmen Warner is any indication of her parents’ character and morality, we’re all cooked! So make the right decision on March 15, and put Nasty-Nancy and Hoodlum-Hal back on the street. (Nancy Warner is actually Nancy Biscone-Warner, so it was no surprise that Carmen was later hired by the Biscone law firm. Surprised?) Now old Hal is harassing the assistant district attorney to punish Soares. Is that what we need our court for? To exact private vengence? To pursue private vendettas?

On March 15th
Vote Dan Baker for Village Trustee
Vote Laszlo Polyak (Write-in) for Village Justice

You don’t have a choice with Bill Bailey, since both parties are using him as a pawn to prevent anyone with a real brain from running for village trustee. But he’s useless even if his party has a majority. We recommend casting your vote for useless Babbling-Bill, because it’s the safest one to cast for the second trustee seat.

Here are our recommendations for March 15th:
DAN BAKER
LASZLO POLYAK (write-in, see below for instructions)
William Bailey (by default)

Please see below for instructions on how to vote for LASZLO POLYAK as a write-in. It’s very important you do this right and make sure you spell his name correctly when writing it in. The Warner mob will use any excuse to disqualify your vote. It’s been done in the past.

 

Editor’s Note:  It will be interesting to see what Nancy Warner’s reaction will be when her husband is given his walking papers and Ravena finally has a real justice court. Our guess is that her first move will be to take steps to abolish the village court, just out of her characteristic nastiness, just to make certain no one else can preside. Let’s just wait and see.

So, Friends and Neighbors, do the right thing on March 15th, and finish cleaning up Ravena village hall. Give Nasty-Nancy and Hooligan-Hal their walking papers. Let’s give Ravena some fresh healthy air in Ravena village hall. The stench of corruption has been in Ravena village hall long enough!

Finish the clean-up, Ravena. Give the Warner’s the boot!

The Editor

 

RCS Communities Mourn a Special Son

On July 20, 2015, suddenly, unexpectedly a special son of the RCS community for more than 75 years was summoned home; a colorful, memorable, well-liked, loved and respected member of the RCS community, Rodney A. Krzykowski, died but he left an American legacy and true meaning for those of us who are still able to know the American pioneer spirit when we see it. Rodney will be truly missed by many of us. He should be missed by all of us.

In fact, you can thank Rodney Krzykowski for this Blog! This very blog owes its existence to Rodney Kryzkowski. Think back to 2012, when the crooks, conspirators and special-interest lackies (James Latter, Howard Engel, Alice Whalen, Joe Tracey, Josephine O’Connor, Matt Miller, the RCS Sports Association, and the nefarious Delucas, Cathy and Dirty-Hands Jerry) were ambushing and backstabbing, and lying their way into controlling the RCS school board and the $42,000,000+ budget. This blog was started to defend Rodney and to expose the crooks and conspirators for what they were. That was three years ago and we’re still going strong, thanks to Rodney and the raw deal the crooks were handing him.

Rodney Krzykowski was a man of few words but those words held incredible meaning. He was an honest man, a man who shot from the hip with deadly accuracy, as many of the members of the RCS board of education, like Mr James Latter, Mr Howard “Bray” Engel, Ms Alice Whalen and others too numerous to name, learned very quickly and have the scars to prove it. Rodney was intelligent and did the math before he opened his mouth, unlike the current Latter board, and when he spoke, he made sense; he never learned double-speak.

Rodney embodied a very rare pioneer spirit and didn’t have very much use for government or the crooks government seems to attract and feed. He was brilliant when it came to researching even arcane subjects and doing his homework. Unlike most of our elected officials and public employees, Rodney thrived on intellectual challenges;if it was out there, he’d find it, and when he did Watch out! Town of Coeymans. Most of the local sheeple tended to condemn him on unsubstantiated misinformation spread by the local incest clubs. Surprised? Unlike Rodney, everyone else had something to say about his politics but none of them really knew anything at all about him or his politics. We did, though, and we must admit that he was on to something, not a fanatic or an anarchist, but a true crusader, a man whose principles guided him, and a man who thumbed his nose to ass-kissers and clique-members. When you spoke to Rodney, you had an instinctual perception that the man was special, honest, had a pioneer integrity that is almost extinct these days.

Rodney was a mechanical genius. He loved his cars and he loved racing them. Yes, Rodney raced stock and modified his cars himself, frequently creating machinery to get a job done. If something needed customizing he could conjure up an apparatus to do it. Makes you wonder that he never went the patent route with his creations; the man could have been a millionaire.

Yes, he could have been very comfortable but he preferred to remain simple and work for what he had. If you knew Rodney, you would have to agree with us that you would find it very difficult to find anyone who was a harder worker than he. The man never stopped.

Whether with friends — he was always welcome in many local homes — hanging out in local automotive shops, or at the Medway Café, where you could find hm regularly, he was quiet, minded his own business, but was always available if you wanted to chat. In fact, there was no one still living who knew more about local property histories, businesses, families, and government than Rodney Krzykowski. If you needed to know anything about the property that is now the Port of Coeymans or Don Trickie’s escapades, you’d ask Rodney. He could tell you what was there, what’s still there, who put it there and, if it’s not there anymore, where it went.

Rodney was also an avid history buff and could talk your ear off about the Constitution, the developmental history of taxation, property laws, and the list goes on. He scared the living bejeebers out of local officials, lawyers, judges, because they were ignorant of most of what Rodney had spent years researching. Most local officials rely on an ignorant community and they have their way with the poor bastards; Not with Rodney K! He’d send those dirty dogs packing with their cruddy tails between their legs. We need more Rodneys to keep things kosher in town and village halls.

Rodney owned a tavern and most recently RAK Tire Recovery and the former R.K. Winners Circle. He was not only a businessman and entrepreneur but active in community organizations, too. He was a member of the Ravena Grange and the County Grange and was elected to serve on the RCS board of education. He even raced stock cars at Lebanon Valley for many years.

Rodney was a self-made man, a good man, a generous friend. We are deeply saddened by the way his death was hushed by his family, and how his community was deprived of the opportunity to grieve his death, how Rodney’s friends and admirers were deprived of the opportunity to mourn the loss of a friend and model citizen. We were outraged by the pitifully scant obituary that was tucked away, almost invisible, in a Sunday Times Union. Rodney deserved better, much better. In fact, quite a number of Rodney’s friends and acquaintances were shocked and offended that he was disposed of like a box of old newspapers. A number of those friends and acquaintances even offered to chip in a couple of hundred dollars each to cover a proper viewing and funeral but Rodney’s daughters allegedly wanted to make quick work of it all — the Babcock Funeral Home of Ravena (NY) — a real monopoly in the Ravena area, big prices small productions — , known for its sloppy service, probably didn’t do much to help the general situation.

But the well-hidden, cheapo obituary did announce that Rodney’s memorial service was to be held on

Saturday, August 1, 2015
at 11:00 a.m. at the
Trinity United Methodist Church
Coeymans Hollow

We hope that everyone who knew Rodney will be there to show their support for this fine man, and to show that true American pioneer spirit still has a place in our decrepit culture. Let’s see how Trinity United Methodist will manage to appropriately and fittingly celebrate Rodney’s life; are they up to the task? (See Editor’s Note.)

Editor’s Note: The turnout at Trinity United Methodist Church for Rodney’s memorial service was standing room only. Rev. Meager rushed the actual service a bit and the hymns could have been a bit more energetic but overall the event was a fine tribute. The Grange did a beautiful tribute, and the eulogies spoke only well of Rodney and his contributions to the community. It was a proper tribute to a fine man, and we’d like to thank the community for showing up and doing Rodney proud.

Rodney,
You grew in wisdom, age, and grace and learned through suffering.
May the Lord bless and keep you.
May choirs of angels welcome you and lead you into paradise,
May the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the holy city,
the new and eternal Jerusalem,
where you may find respite in the bosom of Abraham;
where Lazarus is poor no longer,
where every tear is wiped away.
There may you find eternal peace.

We’ll remember you, Rodney.
The Editor

47

 

Resident SLAMS!!! Ravena Trustless Nancy Warner

We recently published an email sent by Nancy Warner to a local resident unlawfully denying him his rights to access information under the New York State Freedom of Information Law, and telling him he’s “wasting taxpayer money.” We pointed out in our article that Warner was way out of line and was the last one who should be telling anyone they’re wasting taxpayer money. Maybe Warner feels that stealing taxpayer money is better than wasting it, after all Nancy Warner knows how to do both. But back to the subject of this article:

RAVENA RESIDENT SLAMS NANCY WARNER

Ravena Resident Pokes Nancy Warner in the Eye. OUCH!

Far from being a trustee, Nancy Warner should be a “Trustless” but you can trust Warner to grab any moment to act like she’s mayor of Ravena. She’s not and this resident tells her so. Read on…

Dear Trustee Warner:

Thank you for your kind but inappropriate email response of 4/29/15. While you are entitled to your personal opinions, you would be well advised to avoid abrogating authorities to yourself that are not yours to exercise. You do not have the implied or explicit authority in your present purview to respond to or to deliberate unilaterally and independently of the Village Board on matters concerning the instant subject matter. Furthermore, you are egregiously overreaching any implicit or explicit authorities when you attempt to limit or to deny me the rights clearly established under the provisions of the New York State Pubic Officers Law (a.k.a. the NYS Freedom of Information Law or “F.O.I.L.”) and any such attempt, implicit or worse still explicit, as represented by your e-mail, may expose you and the Village of Ravena to investigation or even prosecution. Need I remind you at this point of the current investigation relating to the Village Board’s unlawful abuse of power in the [name redacted but it concerns the Ravena Planning Board] case? You need to learn to put a lid on it and to control your megalomaniac ego, Ms. Warner.

At the risk of repeating myself, you had no business whatsoever and no authority whatsoever to arrogantly assume a position not yours by responding unilaterally and without mandate to an inquiry not in your purview. You have repeatedly failed to provide any documentation on how my building went from four to five units. You have never provided documentation with my signature (since none exists), I have repeatedly questioned how and when I went to from four to five units, which is your (Village of Ravena) basis for my water/sewer billing. One has to wonder who you think you are. Better still, one has to remind you who you are; you tend to forget. You are an elected officer of the Village of Ravena and a servant of the residents and community of Ravena. You are nothing more but may be much less, depending on one’s perspective.

You were way out of line in your response to my email. (I was simply requesting who and when will the village attorney contact me from a previous e-mail sent from the village to me six weeks ago; in short a follow up).   The Mayor, and Mr. Mahler and Mr. Coye are the trustees overseeing the water/sewer/building departments, and the zoning/planning  boards respectively.  When it is time to discuss any issue, I will contact them first. Obviously, you are not on those committees or boards and accordingly you have no business injecting yourself into matters concerning them unless explicitly invited to do so; you have not been so invited to my knowledge.

You appear to need a reminder that village elected officers and village staff have obligations and duties to the public under their oaths of office. This is undisputed fact and has been laid down clearly in town and village law, public officers law, administrative law, and yes, in criminal law.  As you are aware, “misprision”  requires one to report crime or a violation of law; you, especially as a public servant, are obligated to report unlawful or illegal activity or or risk prosecution yourself, even if that illegal or unlawful activity is your own. I realize that’s a very regrettable situation you may find yourself in but you yourself are to blame. Your history and record of abuse of office and abuse of citizens’ protected rights is long and documented. You would be well advised to cease and desist with immediate effect your unlawful interference and obstruction of other village employees in their diligent, even if it is somewhat clumsy, execution of their duties and responsibilities under the law. In other words, Ms. Warner, back off and butt out. Should I have an issue with village staff, I shall take it up with them on an informal amicable basis; as I have for the past 25 years.  Should that approach fail,  I shall address and discuss any such issues with the Chief Executive Officer of the Village of Ravena, the Mayor, who I believe continues to be Mr. William Misuraca, not YOU.

Should you have any questions regarding this communication, please do not hesitate to appropriately, that is, within the limits of your authority, to contact me. I shall be pleased to discuss anything you may find difficult to understand or impossible to grasp; simply send me a courteous, civil e-mail.

In the meantime, please accept my sincere appreciation of your most recent communication; I indeed appreciate it for what it is.

[Name withheld by request]

OUCH!!! You been had, Nancy Warner!!!

And BRAVO for you, Ravena resident and taxpayer!!! More of your neighbors should follow your example. Their lives might improve dramatically!

Bravo for You!
Sock It to her!
The Editor

18

Stay Tuned

We might be about to bust the Ravena Incest Club wide open!

We’re not done yet with the scandal behind the Ravena Health and Fitness Center and some of the unlawful finagling that went on using Ravena taxpayer money, public funds. We have a village of Ravena document that appears to split the village payment of $40,000 for the used fitness equipment for Cathy DELUCA’s pigpen. It appears that one check was made out to the NATIONAL BANK OF COXSACKIE in the amount of $18,000.00 and the other check was made out to Bob Fisk’s wife/concubine, Deborah FARHRBACH.  But the Bill of Sale signed by Deborah FAHRBACH and notarized by Michael Biscone’s secretary, Sharon E. DEWSBURY, clearly states that Fahrbach and Fisk are the “legal owners of the equipment” and that there are “no liens or encumbrances” on the equipment. If all that is true and Deborah FAHRBACH wasn’t perjuring herself by making a false oath, something simply doesn’t add up here. Question is: if . was the seller of the used fitness equipment, why did two checks have to be made out? One was a check made out to the National Bank of Coxsackie and the other to Fahrbach? Michael BISCONE is the attorney for National Bank of Coxsackie (Ravena) and acts also as Ravena village attorney. Was Michael BISCONE Bob Fisk’s or Fahrbach’s attorney, too? Is that why Biscone’s secretary notarized the Bill of Sale for the used equipment? Could it be that Robert FISK (a Persico on his mother’s side) owed the NATIONAL BANK OF COXSACKIE a note on the equipment the bank manager — at the time, Donna BISCONE —, would look bad if there were a bad debt? If that were so, then Fahrbach did perjure herself when she stated that Fahrbach and Fisk were the legal owners and that there were no liens or encumbrances on the equipment. What if Fisk had IRS tax liens in 2000 and bad credit, and had to get out from and under what was owed? So they went to the “cookie jar” (Ravena taxpayers money) to get some honey-money? So  do we have the PERSICO and BISCONE clans working together. Former mayor John T. BRUNO was hot on getting the RCS Community Library out of the building and in correspondence notes that his cousin, Josephine BRUNO (Prudential Realty), was brokering the deal. and was pushing to get the village of Ravena to get the equipment out of the building on 172 Main Street, Ravena. Nancy WARNER is a BISCONE, in addition to Donna BISCONE (retired); a National Bank of Coxsackie manager/director, Donald PERSICO, is apparently one of the PERSICO clan. Add Michael BISCONE, who is attorney for the village of Ravena AND for the National Bank of Coxsackie, and may have represented Bob FISK, too. But Fisk is related through is mother to the Persicos of Ravena, too. Looks like we might be on to something here. This is HOT! So stay tuned! We might be about to bust the Ravena Incest Club wide open! (Don’t relax yet, Jerry PERRINE, Larry CONRAD. We’re not done with you yet, either.)

 

Totally Brainless! Ravena Employee Wants His SSAN Removed!

It seems that Nancy Warner, Annette Demitraszek, Kris Biernacki, and Cathy Deluca are not the only nitwits on the village of Ravena payroll. The whole village hall is filled to overflowing with the brain dead, the 100% brainless.

Ravena Mayor Misuraca
Airheads Galore

A village of Ravena resident writes to us:

Dear Editor,

Recently I was stopped and asked by a former Ravena Village employee if I could contact you and have his name and partial Social security info removed from one of your articles.  The employee couldn’t understand why his name and info was part of the article. He also asked, Why, some village employees’ names were not used.  He also believed I have some influence with you.  Wrong! I corrected him.
I stated I have been sharing records and info for over 35 years and I have shared it with dozens of groups over those years. I have no or very, very, very little influence with any or what this blog or its editor publishes. Many individuals from this community  contact this blog with their own info. There is a reason  why  documents  are file in “triplicate ,” so  there is at least three diffent  places the info is stored, from which to obtain the data.  There is more than one way to get info, files or data too. That’s why I share info with anyone who requests it. (If I have the records.
I had a brief discussion with the village employee after he explained to me, who they believed the “blogger” is and that I was working with him/her.  I stated, the person who you think the blogger is,grew up here, went to RSC schools. I moved here about 20 years ago, that person knows far more than I do about the players on both sides of any issue, and this community that’s If and a “BIG IF”, if that person were in fact the blogger. I asked have you ever “eye witnessed” them post the blog? I haven’t. I told the village employee to be careful about “hearsay” you could be very wrong!  [redacted] Be careful. I read the article, I see the theme as “incompetence”, “waste of tax dollar”s, the blog editor was pointing it out for billionth time. Your privacy rights were violated, you have a lawsuit. The employee stupidly replied I can’t sue the village!   Yes, you can. You can sue just to get records when they refuse to produce public records too!  State Judges get an un-redacted copy then they decide what to redact. I know Judge Keegan gave me an un-redacted copy 25 years ago.  The state employee was fired for accessing my record without my consent. Ok, here are some of your options about the article on the blog: You can write a comment to the editor, the blog and you don’t have to use your real name. You can talk to village mayor and/or trustees. You can contact the NYS attorney General’s office and/or the Office of the NYS Comptroller.  And yes I’ll repeat myself you can file a law suit against the village of Ravena for disclosing your personal information.
The village employee then asked me to write to you, as promised to the Village employee, I’m requesting you to remove their names and info.

Thank you
Laszlo Polyak

Read the Original Article
(click the link below)
Ravena Clerk Discloses Protected Information: Aids Identity Theft

While we understand that nobody in Ravena village hall reads this blog. We also understand that village of Ravena employees don’t read this blog. Or so they’d like us to believe. So we’re just wondering what’s going on in Ravena village hall now that the cat is out of the bag and village of Ravena employees and former employees are aware that the village of Ravena clerk’s office is broadcasting their personal protected information? What’s Ravena mayor Misuraca doing about it? After all, he’s the head of the dead fish (that’s where it starts to rot). Nancy Warner was there the whole time and holds the dirty end of the stick. What’s the story with the Bruno appointees, the incompetence twins Demitraszek and Biernacki?

Why is the moron village employee going to a village resident to ask that his SSAN be removed from the blog? Just like everyone else in Ravena village hall he probably has his head up his arse and didn’t understand a word we wrote about the law-breaking still going on in Misuraca’s village hall. Misuraca didn’t get rid of or replace the rats left over from mayor Bruno’s dictatorship, Misuraca simply moved in with them.

Instead of thanking this blog and its contributors for letting the public know what’s going on in Ravena village hall. Instead of being grateful for the information that his personal protected information has been broadcast by the village of Ravena clerk’s office. Instead of going after the village of Ravena and the culprits who were disseminating protected personal information, the jackass goes to a local resident! A peanut has more intelligence than the village employee in question here!

Brainiac’s Head X-ray

Here’s  how it’s done, Dumbo: You pull your head out of your arse, take a deep breath. Then you read Mr Polyak’s e-mail, that is, if you can read. Your beef is with the village of Ravena, Dumbass, not with this blog. You need to read Mr William “Mouse” Misuraca the riot act and ask Misuraca what in hell is going on there! You need to go to a village board meeting and raise some hell there. You need to file a complaint with the New York State Attorney General, the New York State Secretary of State and his moron Robert Freeman, who runs the Committee On Open Government (COOG: Phone: (518) 474-2518 – Fax: (518) 474-1927 – e-mail: coog@dos.ny.gov) — Yeah! He’s the one who tells Demitraszek and Biernacki what they can and cannot disclose when and if they respond to a citizen’s demand under the NYS Freedom of Information Act. You need to write a comment to this blog literately, that is, saying how you feel about the disclosure of your personal information, urging others to do the same.

You’re a good and honorable man, Mr Polyak. You kept your promise to the village employee but the names and last-four (some scrambled) stay posted. But you might want to ask why Nancy Warner’s, Hal Warner’s, Cathy Deluca’s, Annette Demitraszek’s, Kristine Biernacki’s names and SSANs aren’t on the list. We found that a bit business-as-usual for the village of Ravena. Selective treatment, selective disclosure.

As we mentioned in our original article, we’re just the messengers; the village of Ravena disclosed your personal information in full, not us. We had the courtesy to safeguard your information. You might ask who else might have your information, though, and what they’re doing with it thanks to your friends in village hall.

While you’re at it, you may want to  seize the opportunity and order yourself one of these nifty hats, just so that the general public knows you’re an employee of the Village of Ravena and they can take appropriate precautions.

Village of Ravena Employees: Order your caps!
Order direct from:
http://www.zazzle.com/brainless+hats