Mount Vernon Ethics Board Abused Power: Porcari

MOUNT VERNON, NY - Mount Vernon Corporation Counsel Lawrence Porcari called on the City Council Tuesday to comply with a court order mandating the City fund the post of Inspector General. He cited violations of law, leaking of confidential information, and disseminating false accusations.

More from the City of Mount Vernon Law Department's press release:

These abuses of power by the Board of Ethics make the need for an Inspector General urgent, necessary, and long-overdue, says the City's chief legal officer.

Last week the Ethics Board, which is appointed by the City Council, submitted a report which contained accusations about Mayor Richard Thomas, which the Mayor and his legal counsel have labeled as a completely false and a deliberate misinterpretation of information taken from his financial disclosure form. Porcari said the utter disregard of the City Charter associated with the report's release could have been avoided had an Inspector General been present throughout the process, ensuring both compliance and legality of the actions of the Board of Ethics.

"The actions of the Ethics Board throughout the past week is a stain on their reputation." Porcari said, "In fact, the Mayor is expressly exempt from some reporting requirements according to the New York State General Municipal Law, including certain disclosures, and there is no evidence to suggest that the claims made by the Board of Ethics are factually accurate."

In a written reprimand issued by Porcari to the Mount Vernon Board of Ethics, he said that the reckless release of the confidential report was indicative of a will to circumvent due process and unjustly harm the Mayor of Mount Vernon.

"Ethics boards do not exist to be weapons of political factions. They are tools to ensure the public's trust in government," said Porcari. "As such they must be fair, objective, nonpartisan and adhere to due process. Anything less is unacceptable, as it feeds cynicism, erodes public trust and defeats the very purpose of their role in government. An Inspector General will provide the means to hold city employees, boards, and officials accountable and do so in a way that insures the process is conducted ethically and without political interference."

The City Council has been under a court order to restore and fully fund the position of Inspector General since 2010, however it has failed to do so. Porcari is calling for the council to immediately fund the post at the original level, which will also ensure the city's ability to hire qualified candidates.

Mayor Thomas said in a statement last week, "In fact, the money in question was not given to me but to the school by the city's Youth Bureau, for after school programs, a practice that dates to 2013. What kind of so-called Ethics Board, makes such an egregious mistake and then compounds by it by breaching its confidential duty by leaking multiple falsehoods, falsehoods that had been legally addressed by my counsel prior to completion of the report."

Click here to see the full press conference. Click here to see Mayor Thomas's statement on the Board of Ethics report.

February 26th letter from Kantor Davidoff to the Board of Ethics

March 23rd letter from Kantor Davidoff to the Board of Ethics