Council to vote on issuing subpoenas

WILTSHIRE

The city Council will hold a special meeting tomorrow night for the sole purpose of voting to give President Rodney Wiltshire the power to issue subpoenas in the ongoing investigation of two demolition projects and other actions by the administration.
According to sources, three people are in line to get subpoenas, Mayor Lou Rosamilia, Deputy Mayor Pete Ryan and Corporation Counsel Ian Silverman.

“Ordinance authorizing the city council president to issue legislative subpoenas to conduct the continuing investigation of city conduct and processes concerning the following: Demolition in and around the King Fuels site, demolition in and around the King Street site and oversight and direction of the Code Department,” is the lone item on the agenda.

ROSAMILIA

Previously, Rosamilia agreed to have members of his administration testify in front of the Council without a subpoena. Planning Commissioner Bill Dunne, Fire Chief Tom Garrett and others did answer questions regarding the three areas mentioned above.

But, while the Charter does give the Council power to conduct hearings and compel testimony from anyone working in city government - as well as get documents via a subpoena - the mayor is an elected official and as such represents a distinct and separate branch of government.

Also, Silverman is the city’s attorney answerable to the mayor so he could invoke the sacrosanct attorney/client privilege if he is called to testify. On the other hand, technically, he also works for the Council so, he could answer questions by virtue of the fact his boss is telling him to.

RYAN

According to the charter, anyone who fails to answer a subpoena and refuses to testify is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be punished with up to $1,000 fine and a year in jail. But the legal quandaries involving the mayor and corporation counsel have not been tested since this is only the second time in 36 years the Council has invoked its investigatory powers.

In addition to the Council investigation, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Health Department and the FBI have also made inquiries about the demolition projects.

GARRETT

Last month, the two investigators from the EPA paid a visit to the home of former City Engineer Russ Reeves asking about the demolition projects. He and his assistant in his newly formed private practice, Barbara Tozzi, who retired from the city shortly after Reeves resigned, also answered questions from FBI investigators.

The buildings on King Street, which are owned by attorney Don Boyajian, were knocked down at the direction of Garrett – who deemed it an emergency - while Reeves was on vacation. Reeves, during his own testimony in front of the Council, said Boyajian previously asked the city could declare them a hazard and knock them down in the interest of public safety but was denied.

The wrecking ball swung prior to any asbestos abatement and while Bombers Burrito Bar, located next door, remained open.

Reeves also said the demolition at the King Fuels site was shut down because construction activity came dangerously close to a natural gas main and because the demolition crew ignored engineering opinions while knocking down buildings. Later, asbestos was discovered littering the site.

REEVES

During the previous hearings, the city’s decision to shut down 51 Third St. also came under fire. The building is owned by Igor Vamos, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a member of the YES Men. It was used as a gathering place for people who were set to march in protest of alleged police brutality in the wake of the Kokopellis melee. There were questions as to who ordered the Code Department to shutter the building when it had been occupied for years.

The special meeting is slated for 7 p.m. in City Hall. More information as it becomes available.