A copy of my statement follows:

Dear Members of the Board of Ethics,

Before I get started I would request that this committee again recognize my objection as I feel every member of this Board shares a conflict of interest when sitting on this Committee. With that being said this board was convened due to my complaint that was originally sent to Mr. Pickup and Mr. Pickup did in fact send that same complaint to this committee. This committee made a determination on that complaint and Mayor French thru Deputy Mayor Jovanovich asked that the committee take another look at “that” complaint. His exact words were “Don’t take my word for it; I have called on the Deputy Mayor to refer this matter back to the Board of Ethics”. So if this matter is being “referred back” and I emphasis the word “back” as opposed to new, it is my position that Deputy Mayor Jovanovich’s interpretation of my complaint is incorrect and the actual issues that should be investigated and considered by this committee or any other committee are my complaints and they were much more detailed than the two simple questions misinterpreted by Deputy Mayor Jovanovich.

My “complaint” here includes the preferential treatment extended to Mayor French because of his official position by a multitude of mostly senior Rye City staff and officials who encouraged and possibly advised him to ignore, bend or break the law to financially benefit him personally. It should be noted that most of this compliant circles around the Mayor’s rental property which is itself is the Mayor’s side business where he has illegally earned thousands and thousands of dollars and continues to collect that income even as we stand here today.

I believe the Mayor conspired with others to suppress the whole truth about his secret long-running violations of law. All of the above acts were committed in part during his term as Mayor for the City of Rye. It also appears that the acts detailed below took place both prior to his term as Mayor and during his term as Mayor and should have been investigated in detail.

He applied for and received multiple NYS STAR tax exemptions -- one on his primary residence and one on his income producing property, despite signing legal attestation language that these exemptions were only available for a primary residence.

He failed to pay restitution on moneys obtained as a result of the above illegal STAR deduction or even inquire what the restitution would encompass until after I publicly exposed him. At the last City council meeting the Mayor publicly stated that he has made full restitution to the taxing authority and when I checked five days later, that same taxing authority had no record of any payment.

He purchased, occupied, advertised, rented and attempted to sell 13 Richard Place knowing that the property was not a legal single family home, was modified and improved through major reconstruction, including converting an attic into an illegal bedroom, and the installation of a new heating system. Legally required permits and inspections were not obtained or recorded by the City.

He purchased a residence which he occupied and then rented with personal knowledge that the tax basis on the City records was underestimated because the multiple improvements made after 1949, before and during his ownership that were never inspected, approved or assessed by the City authorities.

The Mayor, the City Manager, the City Attorney, then Councilwoman Gamache, Councilwoman Keith and other Council members restricted and stopped me from speaking about these matters in multiple public meetings of the Rye City Council – a forum proper and appropriate to inform the public of possible inappropriate activities of a city’s elected Mayor. In one meeting Councilwoman Keith questioned whether she should summon the police to remove me from the podium.

He used his official position as Mayor of Rye to access local media and distribute inaccurate information in an effort to discredit my disclosures of his activities to the public. He used City contact communications equipment, programs and information processes, including e-mail addresses and multi-level contact programs on multiple occasions to attempt to discredit my disclosures and personal statements. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson aided and assisted him in these efforts.

He used his official position as Mayor to denounce my claims about his July 1, 2011 violation notice issued by building Tamburro.

He exploited the death of Vinnie Tamburro, a trusted and honest City employee in an effort to cover up the true nature of that violation which was issued to the Mayor when Mr. Tamburro was alive. Later he used his death and his inability to defend his reputation to further hide the true facts. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson directly and personally aided him in these efforts to silence me when I questioned him about these matters, making multiple untrue statements publicly, in their efforts.

The Mayor, City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson publicly lied when they asserted that Violation # V0000758 issued on July 1, 2011 was a “phone call complaint” simply “logged into the Building Department.” I believe a wide range of City Hall staff may have been instructed to cover-up the true nature of this legally-recorded building code violation and the facts surrounding its true genesis – which we still don’t know.

He influenced and encouraged the Building Department to withhold incriminating documentation from FOIL requests and issue improper information related to his 13 Richard Place rental property on at least two occasions to two different title companies and others. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson may have also advised the Building Department to improperly withhold incriminating information and documents.

He influenced and encouraged the Rye City Assessor’s Office to withhold FOIL information and issue improper information related to his 13 Richard Place rental property. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson may have also advised the Assessor’s Office to improperly withhold incriminating information.

He influenced and encouraged the Rye Cable TV staff to remove my writings from the publicly-owned Rye TV Internet sites drawing attention to his embarrassing illegal STAR tax and Building Department situations. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson may have also advised or encouraged the staff of Rye Cable TV to remove my writings.

He influenced and discouraged the Police Department from criminally charging his Meadow Place neighbor, who was photographed, caught red-handed, on Purchase Street vandalizing my environmental protest vehicle. City Manager Pickup, City Attorney Wilson and Police Commissioner Connors may have also advised the Police Department to avoid the criminalization of this incident.

He influenced and discouraged the Police Department from investigating criminal acts committed against me and my property on multiple occasions as it was parked in front of his home on Meadow Place among other locations. City Manager Pickup, City Attorney Wilson and Police Commissioner Connors may have also advised the Police Department to not follow up or investigate these incidents.

He influenced and encouraged the Police Department to issue parking violations to my environmental protest vehicle for illegal parking when it was, in fact, legally parked on the same block of his current primary residence on Meadow Place. City Manager Pickup, City Attorney Wilson and Police Commissioner Connors may have also advised the Police Department to issue these improper violations.

He has refused to direct enforcement of Rye City laws covering human sewage, potable water and insect infestations on Hen Island due to a personal relationship between him, his wife and his Meadow Place neighbors, the Volpe's, who are also Hen Island residents and whose parents controlled the governing body of Hen Island.

He influenced and encouraged Rye City employees to rearrange the seating in City Council
meetings so as to avoid having the cameras capture my environmental protest characters brought to City Council meetings, which were brought in an effort to draw attention to his shortcomings in enforcing health and safety regulations on Hen Island. He did the same with enlarged documents that I attempted to display in view of Rye City TV cameras. City Manager Pickup and City Attorney Wilson may have also advised or encouraged the same.

As you can see, his actions here involve a multitude of City officials and employees and the City’s outside law firm?

In fact, that law firm, Harris Beach, has already inappropriately advised this Board of Ethics behind closed doors about some of these matters when, in actuality, they were
on notice that they were implicated in these same issues. It’s “Law School 101” that this is improper.

That is why I have supported an unbiased, objective, transparent investigation headed by parties independent in both appearance and in fact. These individuals must gather all the evidence available, consider the merits of everything above in a transparent process and render a judgment that the public can understand and accept. Anything less will give the appearance of being a whitewash and yet another impropriety.

FROM THE - "OH NO!"- DEPARTMENT

FLASH ALERT>>> City Manager, RyeTV Secretly Record Fireman's Meeting–Lie to Council Members & Public; Withhold Video. Laus Deo

http://lausdeo10580.typepad.com/