Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti must testify in Open Meetings Law case, judge rules

Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti must testify at an Oct. 8 hearing on whether his appointment to the job last month violated New York State Open Meetings Law, a state Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday in Mineola.

Joseph Scianablo, a Democrat running against Republican Ferretti in November, sued the town and more than a half-dozen town officials last month alleging the public wasn't notified in advance of Ferretti's appointment Aug. 5 following the abrupt resignation that day of former Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr.

The town's outside legal counsel, Steven Losquadro, of Rocky Point, argued the lawsuit should be dismissed as moot because the town board's subsequent revote on Ferretti's appointment at its Sept. 16 meeting had complied with Open Meetings Law.

Scianablo's lawyer, Joshua Kelner, of Manhattan-based Kelner and Kelner Esqs., argued his client was entitled to a determination by the court that the town had violated the law on Aug. 5.

State Supreme Court Judge Gary M. Carlton ruled that the case would move ahead but sharply limited the production of documents Kelner had sought through subpoenas, as well as the number of witnesses. Carlton also ruled that the question of Clavin's appointment to a new job at that Aug. 5 meeting would not be part of the case going forward.

In his written ruling, Carlton said the "defendants have failed to establish that all the relief sought in the Petition is moot." 

1995 decision cited

Carlton cited a 1995 decision, Gordon v. Village of Monticello, in which an appointment to an elective office was nullified because of an Open Meetings Law violation 

In addition to Ferretti, Councilwoman Laura Ryder, Councilman Thomas Muscarella and Town Clerk Kate Murray must testify, Carlton ruled.

 In  a statement sent by text message Wednesday, Scianablo lauded the judge's decision. 

"It's great that Judge Carlton has ordered Ferretti to testify in court about his illegal and secretive appointment to Town of Hempstead Supervisor," Scianablo said. "Now he will be forced to come clean to the town residents." 

A phone message left for Ferretti wasn’t immediately returned. 

Losquadro declined to comment following the conference. 

Town spokesman Brian Devine said in a statement Wednesday that "Mr. Scianablo has not produced any credible evidence to support his frivolous lawsuit." Devine called it a "shameless political ploy" that is "costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees."

Devine did not say how many hours Losquadro has billed or what his hourly rate is. 

Scianablo's lawsuit sought to nullify Ferretti's Aug. 5 appointment, require elected town officials to go through training on Open Meetings Law and reimburse his legal fees. 

Losquadro told the judge that town officials had already gone through training voluntarily and planned to undergo additional in-person training with the state Committee on Open Government. 

Kelner said that was insufficient, noting Ryder had said in a sworn affidavit that she had watched a training video on Open Meetings Law on Sept. 12, yet at the Sept. 16 town board meeting told the public that their actions on Aug. 5 had followed the law.

Other developments

Carlton ruled that Ferretti and the town did not need to produce most of the documents sought by the plaintiff, including calendars, text messages and emails in the two weeks prior to Clavin's resignation. 

Carlton did allow a subpoena for documents signed by Ferretti at the Aug. 5 meeting to be produced. 

Video of the Aug. 5 meeting shows that about one minute after Ferretti was sworn in, he signed two documents on Murray’s desk at her direction. Ferretti was not sworn in after his reappointment on Sept. 16.

Carlton's order also requires the town to produce orders for Ferretti’s name to be painted onto town signage that day — the lawsuit alleges that Ferretti’s name had been painted onto signage for events held hours after his appointment. 

The hearing now set for Oct. 8 had been originally set for Thursday, but Losquadro told the court the town needed more time to produce the documents. 

Kelner objected to a delay on the grounds that the town had two weeks to produce them, but Carlton set the hearing date for Oct. 8 and said it could continue Oct. 9 if necessary.