Criminal Bid Rigging in City of Mount Vernon Buildings Department

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

PERMIT #3036WHITE PLAINS NY

Westchester’s Most Influential WeeklyVol. IV NO XLII Thursday, May 20, 2010

NOTE: New Website address: www.westchesterguardian.com

Criminal Bid Rigging in Buildings Department

Oil and Water - see Heller page 6, Obama’s Populist Double Talk - see Limato page 9 Corrections Showdown: Top Brass vs Rank and File - see Abady page 3

In this Issue...

Page 2 The WesTchesTer GuardIaN Thursday, May 20, 2010

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abady - criminal Bid rigging in Mt Vernon.............................2, 26, 28abady - corrections standoff .......................................................... 3, 11From the editor ..................................................................................... 4Letters to the editor ...................................................................4, 14, 27Point counterPoint Willner- spill Baby spill ...................................................... 5, 11 scherer - The real climategate scandal ............................. 5, 11heller - Oil and Water ....................................................................... 6, 7deskovic - Frank sterling is exonerated, Part 2 .................................... 8Limato - Obama’s Populist double Talk .......................................... 9, 26Macalpine - Pariah states: Failure or Opportunity ............................. 10damora - Growing up Inside Greatness ....................................... 12, 13abady - Westchester’s Finest: The Two Lives of Marc hendler ......... 15Westchester sports: roller derby ...................................................16-18Westchester events ........................................................................ 19, 22Westchester community calendar ................................................ 20, 21Theatre directory ................................................................................. 23Westchester retrospective: Washington Irving .................................... 29horoscope .......................................................................................30-31

Municipalities spend millions to hire private contractors, plumbers and elec-tricians, and New york Law mandates blind bidding on public contracts to guarantee taxpayers “maximum quality at the lowest possible cost.” anyone who submits “a fraudulent or collusive bid, or otherwise conspires to corrupt the bidding system, is guilty of a crime under § 103-e(1) of the state’s General Municipal Law.

yet, corrupting the system -- known in criminal law parlance as “bid rigging” – is common practice in Mt. Vernon.

a source recently provided The Guardian documents which reveal that former Buildings commissioner and registered architect, ralph Tedesco, repeatedly doled out taxpayer funds to rossignuolo contracting located at 318 east 3d street in Mt. Vernon illegally by orchestrating phony, high bids from non-existent contractors, backdating bids, and alerting rossignuolo’s principal, Joe rossignuolo, when his company had been

outbid by competitors.Tedesco ensured rossignuolo would

get jobs illegally by orchestrating phony, high bids from non-existent contrac-tors, backdating bids, and alerting rossignuolo’s principal, Joe rossignuolo, when his company had been outbid by competitors. In this way, rossignuolo could lower his bid and ensure taxpayer funds lined his pocket.

rossignuolo has financial and family ties to Mayor clinton young. young’s former deputy chief of staff, Brian Boshow, now the Water commissioner, is married to Michelle capuano. Michelle’s sister is Franca capuano is married to Joe rossignuolo and co-owns rossignuolo contracting. The capuanos are major donors to Mayor young.

Continued on page 26

Criminal Bid Rigging Rife in Mt. VernonDocuments Reveal Extensive Corruption in Buildings DepartmentBy Sam Abady


Obama’s Populist Double TalkContinued from page 9

lost on risky loans and shaky assets get bailed out with FdIc funds. under this Obama/Geithner program, the “fat cats” get relief on the taxpayer dole. so you have to ask, whose side is he on?

remember the Obama mantra of ending the era of the lobbyist in Washington? Obama said, “In the past eight years, the past administration has thrown the door of congress and the White house open to an army of lobbyists who turned our government into a game only they can play.” In reality, the stimulus bill alone had 800 lobbyists working on it and the Obama vs. Big Biz narrative is a farce.

In fact, Obama and Big Biz are cheek by jowl, as ralph Nader bitterly observed. Moreover, it is common sense that, as Obama bloats government, big business will hire more and more lobby-ists. What corporations would not want more taxpayer subsidies, regulations that stifle competition and mandates that force all potential business to them?

In one of Obama’s first acts as President, he issued an ethics executive order to curtail the incestuous nature of government and lobbying. under the order, appointees in his adminis-tration must swear they will not lobby for a period of two years following the date of their appointment. however, there is a loophole big enough to drive a Mack truck through it. The order allows administration appointees to lobby for companies to which they had no affiliation.

What a farce. Lobbyists advertise and sell access, touting their connec-tions to top officials inside government. They can sell access to any company or group, not simply those with which they were once affiliated.

“Bush spent more on an illegal war” is a convenient talking point among lockstep liberals. yet, they ignore Obama’s doubletalk on spending. amongst other things, he claimed he would stop wild spending and often blamed the deficit on the Iraq war. according to the congressional

research service, the entire Iraq war cost $662 billion. Two months into his presidency, Obama signed the $410 billion Omnibus bill into law that included 9, 000 earmarks, the same pork Obama insisted he would curtail when he became President. Next, he signed the $850 billion health “reform” bill. and the spending spree is not over yet. according to the crs study, Obama’s welfare spending will be $880 billion at the end of fiscal year 2010. hence, at the end of only his second year in office, Obama will surpass Bush’s war spending in Iraq to the tune of $260 billion.

how’s that for shock and awe?a clue about why Obama continues

to move the united states closer to the cliff of financial insolvency can be found in the way the junior senator from Illinois handled his personal finances. The New york daily News published an article entitled, “Obama’s Troubling Mantra - In debt We Trust.” The writer, who assumed a pseudonym, depicts the Obamas during the period of 1999-2005 as spendthrifts living well beyond their means with very little savings. The writer perused public records and discovered the Obamas’ debt profile includes pricey extracurricular activities for first daughters, Malia and sasha; a $100,000 line of credit; and their chicago home mortgaged to the hilt.

Luckily, in 2005, book sales of Obama’s autobiographies took off and generated lucrative royalties. On the campaign trail, Michelle Obama explained these unexpected royalties were like “Jack’s magic beans” in the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale.

Interesting. Obama’s spending as President mirrors his spending in private life as a little-known senator from Illinois. sadly, it will be the average, working class taxpaying putz who provides the magic beans.

Mr. Limato completed his degree in FilmStudies at Mercy College and was a talent manager. He is the host of a conservative talk radio show on the Internet, www.mrltavern.ning.com

Continued from page 2

The Rigged Bid for 406 South 1st Avenue

In december, 2007, a fire destroyed 406 south 1st street, a three-familyhouse owned by Mozelle Warner. heavy rains the following June caused the house to collapse. Mrs. Warner had insurance which covered the cost of demolishing the collapsed structure and carting it away.

On august 22, 2008, she entered a contract with Bazooka carting and demolition in armonk which agreed to complete the job for the sum provided by her insurance carrier. On december 24, 2008, Bazooka obtained insurance to demolish the house and notified Mt. Vernon it was an additional insured covered by the policy.

Ordinarily, that would be the end of the matter. a private homeowner, via her insurance, engages a contractor to do the demolition work; the contractor obtains the necessary insurance and demolition permits from the city; and completes the job at no expense to the taxpayers.

In this case, however, Tedesco refused to let the project go forward. Instead, on June 23, 2009, he advised the Mt. Vernon city council 406 south 1st street had collapsed “creating a safety hazard for Mt. Vernon residents,” and insisted the collapsed building must be demolished and removed at city expense. he never told the council that Mozelle Warner owned the property, nor that she was prepared to cover the entire cost of demolition via her insurance carrier.

The council took up this “emer-gency” on July 8, 2009 and authorized the demolition work be put out for competitive bids as required by § 103 of the state’s General Municipal Law and § 73 of the Mt. Vernon city charter.

Tedesco gave rossignuolo the go ahead to begin the demolition work, and he started tearing down the building, but the state Labor department stepped in and stopped him because he failed to take proper precautions for asbestos removal. On June 11, 2009, rossignuolo submitted invoice number 3221 to Tedesco for payment of $13,800 for the initial work which had been interrupted.

Later that day, rossignuolo submitted his formal bid of $49,500 to complete the job, underbidding aG & sons carting of New rochelle which

bid $57,500 and B.N.c. demolition of yonkers which bid $51,550 for the job.

according to The Guardian’s source, however, neither company exists and the bids were phony. Neither company has a currently verifiable address or telephone number.

Mrs. Warner learned Mt. Vernon engaged rossignuolo to demolish her property which she had already arranged to demolish on her own dime using Bazooka. she wrote to Tedesco on June 11th, the same day rossignuolo submitted his invoice and bid, and advised Tedesco she had already paid a contractor to demolish the property and perform asbestos abatement.

In her letter, she complained she received no communication from the Buildings department that it planned to tear down her dilapidated house: “I should have been properly advised of what the city of Mt. Vernon was intending to do so that I could have made arrangements for the company that I hired to immediately do what I paid them to do.” she warned “I will not be responsible to pay a second company I did not hire.”

her letter sheds further light on the corrupt Mr. Vernon regime which hands out demolition contracts to favored insiders as it confirmed Tedesco’s role in obstructing the demolition: “Please also note the reason the house was not knocked down prior to this date is due to the delays in acquiring the necessary permits.”

Tedesco never responded.To make matters worse, Tedesco

deceived the public in a statement to the Journal News which ran a story four days later on June 15th about frustrated Mt. Vernon residents who lived near eleven burned out or dilapidated buildings left standing without action by the city, including 406 south 1st avenue. Tedesco told the newspaper he “could not provide a start date for the work” because some owners “had shown interest in correcting the violations.” Mrs. Warner was one of them. yet, he concealed the fact that he prevented Mrs. Warner from demol-ishing her property at her own expense months earlier, and that he had autho-rized rossignuolo on June 11th to tear down her house.

Continued on page 28

Criminal Bid Rigging Rife in Mt. Vernon


Frank Sterling Is Exonerated

Continued from page 26On august 12, 2009, the city

council adopted an ordinance autho-rizing Mayor young to pay rossignuolo $13,800 for “site clearance, removal ofdebris and garbage” at Mrs. Warner’s property. The ordinance was signed, among others, by William randolph, the city council President, and George W. Brown, the city clerk, and counter-signed by Mayor young the next day.

The Rigged Bid for 2-6 North Bond Street

Like the south 1st avenue house, 2-6 North Bond street located at the corner of Mt. Vernon avenue was exposed to the elements for years and fell apart. Tedesco declared the property be demolished on an emergency basis and put the matter out for “competitive” bids transmitted by fax to 914-665-2498, the Buildings department fax number.

On december 2, 2008, TMI Wrecking in Mt. Vernon submitted its bid to demolish the North Bond street structure for $58,150. TMI’s bid was the first one received and clocked in by Tedesco’s office at 11:19 a.M.

at 4:59 P.M., i.e., the end of that same day, Michael asterono of a.B contractors supposedly located at 231 West 3d avenue in yorktown heights faxed Tedesco a $68,000 bid for the job. The fax signature shows the bid was sent from “deli King,” and apparently, a.B. contractors does not exist. The bid letterhead contains no zip code, and the telephone number listed, 914-960-9314, is a cellular telephone which belongs to a private citizen.

On december 3, 2008, at 12:43 a.M., Joe rossignuolo faxed Tedesco his “Proposal for emergency demolition” of the same property. The bid was clocked in by Tedesco’s office on december 2d at 1:04 P.M, i.e., nearly twelve hours earlier than when it was sent.

however, backdating the bid did not help rossignuolo because he bid $58,250 which was $100 more than TMI’s bid. as TMI was the lowest bidder, by law, it was entitled to the job. It never got it.

Instead, rossignuolo mysteri-ously got word he was outbid, and he faxed Tedesco a second unsigned bid he would do the job for $55,000, i.e., $3,150 cheaper than TMI. The docu-ment was clocked in by Tedesco’s office at december 2, 2008, at 5:17 P.M., more than forty-five minutes after the

Buildings department office was closed and bidding over. The bid was submitted on different letterhead than the belated and backdated $58,250 bid rossignuolo submitted on december 3d.

On december 4th, Tedesco gave rossignuolo written notice to demolish 2-6 North Bond street for which the city would pay him $55,000 based on his second bid. In addition, Tedesco autho-rized rossignuolo to tear down 312 south 7th avenue for a fee of $27,800, and 230 south 3d avenue for a fee of $29,000. Tedesco’s letter was copied to Mayor young and his chief of staff, yolanda robinson.

On december 6, 2008, Tedesco advised the Mt. Vernon city council the buildings located at 2-6 North Bond street, 230 south 3d street, 312 south 7th avenue, and 153 south 11th avenue were “dangerous to life, safety … and general health” of Mt. Vernon residents and must be demolished.

On december 10, 2008, the council declared “an emergency existed” at these locations and authorized Mayor young to pay rossignuolo $111,800 to demolish 2-6 North Bond, 312 south 7th, and 230 south 3d avenue. The ordinance was signed by city council member, J. yuhanna edwards, Loretta hottinger, then-city council President who is Mt. Vernon’s corporation counsel today, and Lisa copeland, the city clerk at that time. The ordinance was countersigned by Mayor young the next day.

at no time did Tedesco advise the council a purchaser was interested in acquiring the North Bond street property which would have obviated the need to pay rossignuolo $55,000 to tear it down.

This set up a head-on collision between the Buildings department and Mt. Vernon’s comptroller. On June 10, 2009, First deputy comptroller, Thomas rajala, wrote Tedesco that Mt. Vernon received a purchase offer for 2-6 North Bond street and said “I recom-mend the current demolition efforts by cMV (city of Mt. Vernon) be halted.” rajala’s letter was copied to his boss, comptroller Maureen Walker, and to the city assessor anthony deBellis, as well as city council President, William randolph.

Tedesco wrote rajala in reply and said the “site declared unsafe and approved by city council for demolition” and copied his partisans, First deputy Buildings

commissioner, soraya Ben-habib, and young’s right hand, Brian Boshow.

rajala replied and told Tedesco, in effect, there was no rush to complete the demolition because “the process started several months ago” and warned “the city can save money by having a new owner do the demolition.”

Tedesco brushed him off, and replied “we will continue to clear this site as planned.” he provided no explanation for his decision, and made no inquiry about the prospective purchaser inter-ested in buying the property.

a source confirmed rajala was infuriated by Tesdesco’s high handed behavior, and went to the city assessor to raise the ante. deBellis then inter-vened, and wrote Tedesco, warning him “you do not have domain over this prop-erty we do. If you procede (sic) it is at your peril aNd expense.”

at this point, Tedesco was trapped, so he reached out to hottinger for cover. he forwarded her the entire June 11th e-mail chain and complained “I am made to feel I am personal (sic) responsible for some thing (sic) … and doing my job!” he asked her “what is legal step to take.”

hottinger never replied. secure in the knowledge he could proceed with busi-ness as usual, Tedesco gave rossignuolo the go ahead and he tore down the North Bond street and got paid.

But the story does not end there. cities are responsible for property damage caused by private contractors they hire. apparently, rossignuolo damaged Verizon equipment when he tore down the North Bond street prop-erty, and on august 27, 2009, Verizon served the Mt. Vernon corporation counsel with an official Notice of claim, a legal step required to obtain property damages from municipalities.

By law, the Buildings department requires all contractors hired by the city to obtain insurance for each job naming Mt. Vernon as an additional insured. rossignuolo simply had to forward Verizon’s claim to his insurance carrier -- if he had insurance, as the law requires.

It never happened. On October 19, 2009, Michael Lentini,, a staff investi-gator in corporation counsel’s office, spoke with rossignuolo, told him he damaged Verizon’s equipment and that Verizon was going after Mt. Vernon. rossignuolo promised the city would be covered. Nothing happened.

Lentini spoke with rossignuolo again on November 16th and again, demanded rossignuolo indemnify Mt. Vernon for the property loss. again, rossignuolo promised Mt. Vernon would be covered, and again, nothing happened.

Finally, on december 18, 2009, hottinger wrote to rossignuolo demanding indemnification and refer-enced his prior promises to Lentini that “acknowledgement of the claim and repre-sentation would be forthcoming,” but none was ever provided. rossignuolo left Mt. Vernon exposed on the Verizon claim.

The Guardian made repeated attempts to speak with Mayor young about these matters, alerting his secre-tary the subject matter was “bid rigging in the department of Buildings.” young did not respond.

Likewise, attempts were made to speak with hottinger who was involved in approving the rossignuolo payments, and the person who put his feet to the fire on the Verizon claim. The Guardian spoke with one of her assistants and asked what, if anything, hottinger intended to do about the bid rigging. The assistant was not authorized to speak with the press and promised to relay the matter to hottinger. she never called back.

Continued from page 8

friends and supported donated to him. he purchased several blue items because blue is a color forbidden to prisoners. I took him to a local diner where he once worked. Friends there hugged him. I then took him to see places he had not seen in nearly twenty years. I bought him his first real ice cream, and later a slice of pizza. We paid surprise visits to old friends. I put him on the telephone with scott christianson who wrote about Frank’s case in his book Innocent: Inside Wrongful Conviction Cases. Frank had never met him or spoken with him.

Finally, I drove him Frank to see his father’s grave. his beloved father died while Frank spent nineteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit. It was a very emotional moment.

Jeff Deskovic spent sixteen years in prison for a murder and rape he did not commit. He writes exclusively about wrongful conviction and prosecutorial misconduct.

Criminal Bid Rigging Rife in Mt. Vernon