Details Emerge in Former Ramapo Official's Apparent Suicide at Bear Mountain Bridge

UPDATE: New York State police have issued a statement on a Friday morning suicide from the Bear Mountain Bridge apparently involving former Ramapo town Councilman Daniel Friedman.

On December 30, 2016 at approximately 4:00 a.m., the New York State Police was advised by the NYS Bridge Authority of a possible subject that jumped from the Bear Mountain Bridge. An investigation revealed that a subject was captured on Bridge Authority surveillance video jumping over the north side railing, approximately mid span, of the bridge. Several marine units from Rockland County and Westchester County, in addition to NYSP Aviation, searched the waters below the bridge for several hours without recovering the victim. An unoccupied vehicle registered to Daniel Friedman, of Monsey, NY, was located parked on the shoulder of State Route 9D, on the Westchester County side of the bridge. At this time, Friedman has not been accounted for and anyone with any information is asked to contact the NYSP in Cortlandt at (914) 737-7171.

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Former Ramapo Town Councilman Daniel Friedman died jumping off the Bear Mountain Bridge Friday morning.

“Daniel Friedman was a valued member of our staff whose talents and intelligence, good humor and strong work ethic set him apart," said Rockland County Legislature Chairman Alden H. Wolfe. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones on this terrible loss.”

Friedman was 30. He worked for the Rockland County Legislature and was an adjunct professor at Rockland Community College.

“We are stunned and saddened by the sudden loss of one of our colleagues in the Legislature,” said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. “In his role at the Legislature, Daniel was working for the good of the people of Rockland. May his memory be for a blessing.”

Friedman served on the Ramapo Town Council for six years, as a reformer of town government. According to the Rockland County Times, the corruption he tried to expose is the corruption for which town officials were arrested earlier this year.

He lost a Democratic primary in September 2015 to Samuel Tress, a member of the town's Zoning Board of Appeals who was backed by Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and the powerful Hasidic voting bloc.

Tress resigned in September 2016 as part of a plea bargain down from a felony charge. As a member of the Ramapo Zoning Board, he voted in favor of giving 8 zoning variances to property in which he had a secret financial interest.

SEE ALSO

• Official Had Secret Interest in Project he OK'd: Rockland DA
• Tress Resigns from Ramapo Town Board as Part of Plea Bargain
• Town Officials Face Charges in Fiscal Fraud Case
• SEC Charges 4 in Ramapo; Seeks Financial Penalties