Hempstead officials in Open Meetings Law case: Communication lapses led to no-shows in court

Hempstead elected officials facing contempt sanctions in an Open Meetings Law lawsuit testified Monday that lapses in communications were behind their failure to appear in court last month.

Town Supervisor John Ferretti, Town Clerk Kate Murray, Councilman Thomas Muscarella and Councilwoman Laura Ryder testified in state Supreme Court in Mineola why they failed to obey subpoenas to testify at an Oct. 8 hearing.

After about four hours of testimony Monday, Judge Gary Carlton reserved ruling on the contempt allegations.

Last month, Carlton ruled the town and several town officials had violated state Open Meetings Law when the board appointed Ferretti to replace Donald X. Clavin Jr. after Clavin's sudden resignation Aug. 5. Carlton said in his ruling that town officials had communicated secretly to arrange for Ferretti’s appointment.

Joseph Scianablo, who was the Democratic candidate for town supervisor, sued in late August alleging the that failure to notify the public of Republican Ferretti’s pending appointment in advance put his own candidacy at a disadvantage.

Scianablo’s attorney, Josh Kelner of Manhattan-based Kelner & Kelner Esqs, said after Monday’s hearing that town officials hadn’t testified on Oct. 8 in order to “avoid testifying before the election.”

“The court was clear that they were all under subpoena to appear at the court and they failed to do so,” Kelner said.

Ferretti said following Monday's hearing, “we’re not going to comment on ongoing litigation.”

Ferretti won his election against Scianablo last week.

On Monday, Ferretti testified that about a week before the Oct. 8 hearing, the town’s outside legal counsel, Steven Losquadro, of Rocky Point, had told him that appeals would be filed in the case and that he followed up with Losquadro. 

“I did ask him what’s up with the appeal,” Ferretti said.

Ferretti said that on Oct. 7, the day before he was scheduled to testify, Losquadro informed him that the town had filed appeals in the case and that it would be stayed.

Ferretti said that Losquadro had told him there was “zero, zilch chance that I was testifying.”

Although Losquadro did file appeals on Oct. 7, Carlton informed him the case was not stayed and would move forward. On Oct. 8, Town Attorney John Maccarone showed up in court without witnesses or subpoenaed documents, and Losquadro had told the court he was unable to attend for health reasons.

Ferretti said he received a “frantic” call from Maccarone around 10:15 a.m. Oct. 8 and was told he might need to testify that day.

Attempts to reach Losquadro and Maccarone on Monday were unsuccessful.

Town Clerk Kate Murray testified that she had known about the Oct. 8 hearing but that she, too, had understood it was stayed.

Murray testified that subpoenas served on the town at her office would go to the town attorney’s office and that she was seeing some subpoenas for the first time in court on Monday. 

Muscarella and Ryder both testified that they had not received or known about the subpoenas that had been served upon them through the town.