Westmore News Publisher Richard Abel Denies That He Was Meddling In Port Chester Politics
Richard Abel says that he left the Westmore News Offices To Have A Meeting With Former Port Chester Village Clerk / Village Manager Fritz Falanka.
Apparently, It Was Just A Coincedence That Westmore News Publisher Set Up A Meeting With The High School Graduate Who Was Being Offered A Pay Package In Excess Of $100,000.00.
Westmore News Publisher Richard Abel claims the $100,000.00 village clerk's position that is being decided behind closed doors never came up.
Well what in the hell did the Westmore News publisher and Fritz Falanka talk about?
Maybe Westmore News Publisher Richard Abel said something like, "Gee Fritz, I really miss the way that your budgets increased taxes almost 50% durring your last three years at Port Chester."
Or Maybe Richard Abel and Fritz Falanka talked about this.....
FIVE Port Chester officials, including its Mayor, the Police Chief and the Village Manager, are being charged with a breach of ethics for buying condominiums before they were made available to the public at The Landmark, the former Lifesavers factory in the village.
FIVE Port Chester officials, including its Mayor, the Police Chief and the Village Manager, are being charged with a breach of ethics for buying condominiums before they were made available to the public at The Landmark, the former Lifesavers factory in the village.
The officials are Mayor Peter Iasillo, Joseph Coletti, a Village Trustee; John Grosse, the Chief of Police; Richard Falanka, the Village Clerk; Michael D. Ritchie, the Village Manager, and, in the words of the charge, ''all other village officials, officers and employees similarly situated.''
The complaint, filed with the three-member Village Board of Ethics by two Village Trustees, says the officials voted to rezone the property or performed other official acts in connection with the building and meanwhile ''had their names secretly placed on a preferred list'' in order to be first purchasers.
It also charges that the price was raised 5 percent to other buyers after the officials had bought their units, which were advertised as ''affordable'' at an average price of $150,000 for a one-bedroom unit......
.....buyers included Anthony B. Gioffre, a former State Senator, and Dominick D. Pierro, a County Legislator.
Mr. Gioffre said he would not comment. Mr. Pierro said he had not bought a condominium himself, but was part of a three-member corporation - including his law partner, John Colangelo, and a third person whose name he said he could not disclose -that had bought a studio condominium as an investment.
Christopher Rocca, a member of the Village Board of Ethics, said he would ask the developer for a list of the buyers and would hold hearings in the Village Courthouse in the next few weeks.
The complaint was also filed with the County District Attorney's office, which turned it over to its frauds division for ''inquiry,'' which is a step short of an investigation; with the State Attorney General's office and with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.....
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