Wednesday, March 18, 2015

It gets real: Feds subpoena records from Troy Council



My version of the story is below but so I don’t rehash all the old news or t 
he Times Union article, the subpoenas issued Wednesday does lead to some interesting questions and observations:
-Why did the EPA subpoena the Council, which had nothing to do with the actual demolitions, rather than go directly to the administration which did? Also, all the records – with the exception of emails and other communications, are already public documents.
-Attorney Don Boyajian’s name is the only one mentioned in the subpoena. His partner, Bill Dryer represented former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno in his second trial that ended with an acquittal ending a nearly decade long investigation and prosecution by the feds. 
-Including the fact Boyajian owned the buildings in 2010, there are other constants from 2010 through 2014: Bill Dunne was on the Council in 2010 and, after being term limited out at the end of 2011, became director of the Planning Department for Mayor Lou Rosamilia in 2012 and Fire Chief Tom Garrett was chief then and when the King Street buildings were knocked down.
-At this stage of the game it is far better to receive a subpoena than not since the targets likely won’t hear anything until there are indictments – if any should be forthcoming, that is.  
-Rosamilia, after taking a beating about frozen pipes and hosting one of the worst press conferences in the history of not just Troy but the world, goes back into hiding with a solid “no comment.”
-The Council, under President Rodney Wiltshire, is again vindicated for holding hearings into the demolition projects.
-I don’t recall the April 2013 demolition of the Ardex Building at 744 Pawling Ave. but the feds remember it because they requested documents related to that too. As an aside, Reeves was in town for that one and did declare the emergency himself.
-The federal government takes its time when investigating such matters but for them to first question City Hall employees in City Hall, like investigators did earlier this year, and then issue subpoenas it is painfully obvious they are taking the whole thing seriously.
-It’s just one more disastrous turn of events for Rosamilia and one more reason I don’t think he runs again.

STORY
The Troy City Council received a sweeping federal subpoena, Wednesday, as part of the ongoing probe into controversial demolition projects on King Street and at the King Fuels site.
According to the subpoena, first reported by the Times Union, the Environmental Protection Agency is demanding a host of records from January 2010 to the end of 2013. That includes records from the last two years of Mayor Harry Tutunjian’s term and includes three consecutive city Councils.
The row of buildings on King Street was demolished by an emergency decree called by Fire Chief Tom Garrett. Former City Engineer Russ Reeves was on vacation at the time. He had previously denied a request by the buildings’s owner, attorney Don Boyajian, to declare them a public hazard and to knock them down under the city’s emergency demolition procedure.
The city Council, through a half dozen public hearings, the FBI the EPA and the state Labor Department have been looking into whether or not public safety was in jeopardy during the demolition. Asbestos was known to have been in the buildings but not properly abated and the buildings were demolished while Bomber’s remained open next door. Patrons were seen freely entering and exiting the bar/restaurant while the wrecking ball swung not 50 feet away.
According to the subpoenas, if the Council turns over records the individual members do not have to appear in Albany on April 1.
Earlier this year the FBI and EPA interviewed City Hall employees and last year Reeves, who had resigned at the time and Barbara Tozzi were also interviewed.
“It has been my contention from the beginning that the demolition at 4-10 King Street in August 2013 was conducted unethically, and possibly illegally,” said Councilman Ken Zalewski, D-District 5. “The City, in its attempt to circumvent the standard demolition process one day after the City Engineer went on vacation, placed the public at risk of exposure to airborne asbestos particles. “
Mayor Lou Rosamilia, through a spokesman, tells the Times Union his office had no comment on the subpoenas.
 Council President Rodney Wiltshire tells the Times Union the Council’s investigation is validated by the fact federal investigators are bringing the issue to a grand jury. Councilman Jim Gordon, R-District 1, tells the newspaper he reached out to the EPA to see specifically what documents they want.
The EPA is also asking for records regarding the demolition of a number of buildings at the former King Fuels site located on a tract of land in South Troy owned by the Troy Industrial Development Agency. The demolition followed no engineer approved plan, the work was conducted in such a manner it threatened to breach a gas main and there was no asbestos abatement. It was so shoddily done, the demolition was the reason Reeves resigned.

 

88 comments:

  1. You can try and blame politics and politicians all you want.bottom line the Chief who is suppose to be an expert in hazardous materials and situations made the call. And it was done when thenCity Engineer was out of Town, what a coincidence. Can you really spread the blame to pressure from others? Doubtful, if he was pressured into robbing a bank or another crime, he still did it. Everyone is responsible for their own actions and this one is very obvious, he knew better. As for the King Fuels monkey business, well thats attributed to the shody deals by the monkey in the planning department that monkeys up evry deal he has been involved in. Mr. Wade is the reason Lou is stuck with this guy. Time to get rid of the Monkey in Planning as well as Monkey Wade! Troy has nevr been more messed up!

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    1. They are not asking about King Fuels.

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    2. Get rid of all the monkeys, there noa gooda

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    3. And his side kick dire wolf

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    4. Bye bye Dunne and your little dog too

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  2. Jim, the one constant is Russ Reeves. Repeated no bid emergency demos with no air monitoring.

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    1. Dunne, Chamberlain,Casale all constants

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    2. Thank you bill dune for input

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    3. Ditinno does all the emergency demo work

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    4. Don't forget Deputy Mayor Ryan and creepy son.

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    5. That was Ryans son watering down the building

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  3. Why subpoena the Council? Didn't you ever peel an onion Jim?

    Garret , Chef Boyardee and Lou will be indicted . Phone records don't lie nor do a scorned ex city engineer.

    Russ Reeves will take all these bitches down. Reeves must of cited the Ardex demolition as an example of another case where influence was peddled to obtain a free demo. He will say he was ordered , intimidated or coerced to endorse it at the time.

    " but he's a nice guy ...." Have fun in prison Lou.

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    1. The Ardex guy is bankrupt.

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    2. Ardex was in extremely bad condition but should have been cited by code a long time ago

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    3. Lou's poor little butt

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    4. Not Lou. They want boyardi and casale and the kid that did the sidewalks

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  4. Remember how Boyajian had sweat threw his suit in front of Rodney what the hell will he do in front of the Fed grand jury? He may explode.

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    1. What? Boyajian is about 10 times smarter than Rodney.

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    2. Those greasy monkeys all sweat like that

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  5. The college professor who taught accounting who can't balance a budget.
    But Mayor Lou is a real nice guy.
    Congratulations City of Troy you elected Rosamilia well done by any measurement.
    Maybe Chief Garrett can run for Mayor next, I'm sure the EPA will support him.

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    1. And the head account clerk doesn't know what the hell she is doing either but that's okay she's friends with his family and dresses well

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    2. Agreed. Seems like there is an entitlement complex here. The account clerk feels entitled and so does the mayor.

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    3. Ask her about Legends in Wynantskil, not so clean cut.

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    4. Vp of the union with a stipend. Credit union rep civil service rep and hubby cushy job in dpu

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    5. Sounds like conflict of interest to me.

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    6. Jealous much?

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    7. Haters gonna hate when your doing something right

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    8. She is a role model to the city. On everyone's side......she may be involved in everything, but at least her best interest is for the city taxpayers. Not sure of which city, but at least we know we have someone we can count on..........

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    9. Sounds like a smart woman from these posts, working 3 different jobs at city hall! Brains and beauty whats the problem?

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    10. Lives in brunswick

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    11. Go away! Get a life! How do your own job? Are you a city employee?

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    12. It's a tough life to live when the highlight of your life is residency , cats and cigarettes .. You smell and are pathetic

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    13. Haters gonna hate? Sounds like someone whose name starts with and sounds like ...DUH

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    14. Jealous? No. I was appointed my position so it was based on my actual work experience, scheduling tans is not management by the way. Serving steak and potatoes isn't either and Oh yeah you suck as a waitress.

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    15. You think that only one person can see your true colors. There are quite a lot of people that don't like how you talk about hard working Co workers. Why don't you stick to the issues and lay off the personal attacks. Oh yeah I was appointed too.

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  6. Call me stupid we own property in Troy. One question no one answered how does Garrett remain chief after King St? Does anybody believe this guy?

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  7. King St. will be their downfall.

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  8. Think outside the box on this one. Question 1) Was anyone in secret meetings with the administration and knew more then they are letting on? 2) What was said at the council hearings that is being contradicted by information? The feds know the answers to both of these. We will shortly!

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  9. I keeps looking brighter and brighter for Mantello to finally get her chance!

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  10. The Ardex building out on Pawling Avenue was truly falling apart and needed to come down. King Street is another issue. Amazing coincidence that Garrett makes the call to tear down when Reeves is out of town, and barricades had already been delivered early that morning before the "public" decision to do the tear down.

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    1. King Street could have been saved. So much potential in those buildings. Why weren't they up for sale or up for bid like the rest of the properties in Troy. They ruined what little charm the City had.

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    2. Cameras from green and stand bridge don't lie

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    3. Green island police and troy work together and even job share. Those tapes will all the sudden be fuzzy or camera out of order.

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  11. Where's Gary Gordon at?

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  12. Crying the blues still over Joel letting him go.

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  13. Garrett was rewarded with a new City Sports car

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  14. The chief is a sneak that has been working the system for years. Never missed an hour of ot, he sucked up to Harry, now he Sucked up to these guys.must just be a good suck up. His day is coming?

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    1. Has code enforcement ever inspected any of the apartments in the city. that are owned by the chief? I heard they are in worse shape than the buildings on king street.

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    2. TOG SUNDAY NIGHT...OVERTIME!!!!!!

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  15. Rodney and Ken must be eating this shit up now. I would too if I were them.

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  16. Politics just stinks in Troy. We go to the polls and vote...we express our opinions. It is not about us - the PEOPLE - at all. We are living in broken down neighborhoods, we report when we see things that need fixing. Nothing gets fixed. The 'elected' administration working in the rented city hall are not doing a thing to help the people whom they represent. The strangest thing is that the people will go out and reelected them. I don't understand the process anymore.

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    1. Stop the whining, these are the "nice guys" the voters elected!

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    2. It's because it's all a popularity contest. They all withhold information and make non insiders struggle and marry each other's brothers sister's cousins, they are all nasty

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  17. Another disturbing issue surrounds the legal pronouncement of the city corporation council that essentially provided cover for the manner in which the King Street building was demolished. Does everyone forget that Don Boyajian's firm was on the city payroll for about 20 grand a year for the past several years as a paid consultant to the city. (Don Boyajian is the owner of the demolished building)Yet, the city's corporation council saw nothing wrong with declaring all was done legally with the demolition while the man who on paper at least benefited from the "emergency" by saving the cost of asbestos abatement, was at the time a paid consultant to the city. Does anyone see something wrong with legal pronouncements which assisted the property owner while he was a paid city consultant without disclosing the ongoing financial relationship with the city?
    Further was it appropriate for Don Boyajian to be lobbying city officials for an emergency declaration for months while he was a paid city consultant?

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    1. That's why all cases against the City are so far behind, they are too busy paying off all these crooks instead of legit claims

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    2. That's why all cases against the City are so far behind, they are too busy paying off all these crooks instead of legit claims

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    3. No the city's case load is so far behind because the corporate counsel office have no clue

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    4. Thank God Ian will be gone. He is pathetic. Sore loser in the primaries too.

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    5. But he's good looking.

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    6. He looks like the guy that used to host Family Feud

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    7. On what planet?

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  18. What ever happened to this bunch and the last bunch of council people saying they were going to get a permanent city hall and not rent one? Troy is the laughing stock of the state... Honestly who rents out their city hall?

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  19. Jim your infatuation with this unemployable campaign killing Amy OConnor is clouding your ability to interview. The show today was unlistenable as you never pressed her on her lie after lie. She is a democratic apologist sent out by Tom Wade to deflect the shit storm that's coming for these 4 people Ryan,Dunne,Garret,and Boyajian.

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    1. Hey don't take it out on Jim. There are many City officials that could step up and OFFER to be on the show but most are ninnys

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    2. Sounds like you're jealous 3:19

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  20. chief cumming is retiring sunday 37 years with tdf he has never paid taxes in the city troy>>>>>>watervliet..brunwick..CLIFTON PARK...

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    1. Chief Cummings is a class act. I wouldn't care where he paid his taxes as long as I knew if my house were on fire, he was there. Give it a rest. He is a true hero. Pick on someone who deserves it, like the knitting club!

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    2. Don't knock chief Cummings. Has nothing to do with this!

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    3. i beg to differ.... check out his padded pension 100,000

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    4. Chief Cummings was a great asset to the city. Sad to see him go. Good luck in your retirement. He was a class act unlike some members on the city council

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    5. Chief Cummings worth every penny and more. Will be really sad to see him go. Good luck Chief! We'll miss you!

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  21. It doesn't save on the cost of asbestos.

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    1. it most certainly does save on the cost, and I bet it did. Thats why the crook chief ordered it for his bud!

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    2. How? You need to read the law.

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    3. Nobody reads or follows the City's own rules, that is Why the City is such a mess...you expect them to read the laws?

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  22. Looking into inspection records of the Chiefs buildings is a very good idea.mit would show years of organized corruption if what these people are saying is true. I remember hearing an RPImofficial claimming he was a hypocrite whenhe was strong arming them over their fire protection situation. More OT for the boys was the goal withnthat money. He shoud be investigated, Imsure hope they do. Probably on OTntoday, its Sunday!

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  23. Why don't the feds look into certain individuals bank accounts and see who made substantial deposits the month before, or in August, or the month after ?

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    1. Me would think the feds already know about the lunch date with the property owner and the deputy mayor just days prior to the demolition. Will little Petey lie when confronted ?

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    2. Because they are sneaky. They will deposit 5k into one business account, 5k into another account, pay their wives cash...good God...did you NOT learn anything from watching Good Fellas?

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  24. So, let's assume the Chief intentionally ordered the tear down for nefarious reasons? Why? Who in City Hall benefits one bit? I love Troy conspiracies as much as the last guy, but can someone connect the dots for me?

    Why would anyone there stick there neck out for Boyajian? Inquiring minds want to know.

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    1. Ok dunne. Your words give u away

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    2. They wash each other's back that's how City Hall makes out. They help each other out when they find themselves in a pickle and then they end up owing one another a favor and that is what got City Hall into the family business it is. Everyone is related. Just as Lou Schneider who is related to whom, it will blow your mind.

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  25. He was ordered to do so by the deputy mayor. The payoff to the chief wasto look the other way on the sunday night overtime. The was, perhaps, an iindirect transaction between the building owner and the deputy mayor --lots of intermediaries.

    It looks like the defense team for those soon to be indicated is already laying out their strategy.

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