Official Used Connections To 'Terrorize' Hispanic Neighbors: Lawsuit

MAMARONECK, NY — A Village of Mamaroneck family used deep connections in local government to help them get away with terrorizing neighbors because of their race, according to detailed accusations in a federal lawsuit.

This report contains unaltered excerpts from a federal court document. In some cases, the language used and actions described may be offensive.

A former Village of Mamaroneck official, her husband and son are accused of a campaign of stalking, harassment, hate and unspeakable acts against two neighboring Hispanic families with the goal of driving the families from the neighborhood, according to the lawsuit filed on Friday.

Maria Louise Dunaway, who was village court clerk for nearly three decades, was named in the lawsuit. She died on Saturday at age 75. Her husband, 76-year-old Douglas Dunaway and their son, 55-year-old Michael Dunaway are listed as co-defendants.

The family is accused of an unending campaign of harassment, stalking, property damage, bullying and abuse of power to try to drive their Hispanic neighbors from their homes on a shared dead end street. The initial court filing cites video, photographic and eyewitness evidence to back up the explosive allegations, including racially charged threats of violence.

In some cases, the threats escalate to actual violence, according to police complaints. Michael Dunaway, who was arrested the week of July 11 for violating an order of protection after dumping human urine on the neighbors' property, has also physically accosted at least two residents of the block, according to police complaints.

“Our firm is proud to represent Ana and Jason DeLeon and Ariela and Walter Gehring in this important lawsuit," attorney Brian Cohen told Patch in a statement. "We believe that justice will prevail and hope that the impact of the DeLeons’ and Gehrings’ claims will extend far beyond this litigation, and that their courage will help improve living conditions for all racial and ethnic minorities and inspire other victims of bigotry and discrimination in their homes and neighborhoods to come forward and fight for the dignity and respect that they deserve.”

The Dunaway family made it known that they own a gun, and have threatened the neighbors and their families and friends, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs were forced to endure documented harassment, according to their lawyers, that included racial slurs, threats of violence and racial epithets, including:

• "I’m going to get my gun and kill your spic ass, and your wife and newborn child."
• "Go back to your fucking country."
• "Damn foreigners. You don’t belong here."
• "Fuck you, wetback! Go back to your shithole country."
• "What’s wrong with you foreigners? You come into this country and think you can do what you like? Go back to Mexico where you belong."
• "You don’t belong here."
• "Those foreigners keep coming and going. They should just stay away."
• "Keep that Mexican rat away from my house."
• "I will beat your ass motherfucker."

According to her obituary, Maria Louise Dunaway was born in Italy.

The lawsuit contends that the efforts to run their Hispanic neighbors out of their homes went far beyond verbal abuse. The court filing accuses the Dunaways, both as individuals and in concert, of vicious bullying and harassment on an almost daily basis, including:

• Physically assaulting, shoving and spitting on certain neighbors.
• Stalking and videotaping the plaintiffs and their families, including young children.
• Throwing dog feces, human urine and urine-soaked wipes onto plaintiffs’ properties.
• Physically blocking the Staub Court driveway to prevent plaintiffs from leaving.
• Throwing garbage and debris onto plaintiffs’ properties and front steps.
• Letting their dog roam free to scare the plaintiffs.

The Dunaways are accused of going as far as to sweep garbage and debris onto the driveway in a successful attempt to clog the storm drain and cause water to back up in the already flood-prone area.

When the harried neighbors tried to get help with the undeniable situation, that's when they say they learned the hard way that you can't fight village hall.

According to allegations in the lawsuit, the Dunaways called the Westchester County Department of Social Services to falsely accuse one of their neighbors of a laundry list of child abuse and neglect claims, including punishing their daughter by "capital punishment." Because of the report, the DeLeons were subject to an investigation, which sent a social worker to their home to interview them and their young daughter and to contact their daughter’s school to request her records.

"For 30 years, Louise was the Court Clerk for the Village of Mamaroneck Justice Court," the lawsuit asserts. "During that time, the Dunaways developed relationships with Village of Mamaroneck police officers, officials, and judges, and they leverage those relationships to intimidate Plaintiffs and make them feel helpless."

The legal complaint includes photographs that appear to show police officers hugging the Dunaways. The filing also says, however, that interactions with police were also at times antagonistic and confrontational on the part of the Dunaway family.

In addition to photographic and video evidence, lawyers said in the initial court filing that there are at least 14 confidential witnesses to back up many of the allegations in the lawsuit, including one witnesss who said the family displayed a Confederate flag as a means of intimidation.

"The impact of Plaintiffs’ claims extends far beyond this case," lawyers for the plaintiffs told the court. "Failing to hold Defendants responsible would set a dangerous precedent and signal to others that they can harass Hispanics to drive them out of their neighborhoods."