PRESORTED

STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY

Vol. IV NO XLII Thursday, May 20, 2010

Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly

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
NOTE: New Website address: www.westchesterguardian.com
Page 2 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, May 20, 2010

In this Issue...
Abady - Criminal Bid Rigging in Mt Vernon.............................2, 26, 28 Criminal Bid Rigging
Rife in Mt. Vernon
Abady - Corrections Standoff........................................................... 3, 11
From the Editor...................................................................................... 4
Letters to the Editor....................................................................4, 14, 27
Point CounterPoint
Willner- Spill Baby Spill....................................................... 5, 11 Documents Reveal Extensive Corruption in Buildings Department
Scherer - The Real Climategate Scandal.............................. 5, 11
Heller - Oil and Water........................................................................ 6, 7 By Sam Abady
Deskovic - Frank Sterling is Exonerated, Part 2..................................... 8
Municipalities
Limato - Obama’s Populist Double Talk........................................... 9, 26
spend millions to hire
MacAlpine - Pariah States: Failure or Opportunity.............................. 10 private contractors,
Damora - Growing Up Inside Greatness........................................ 12, 13 plumbers and elec-
Abady - Westchester’s Finest: The Two Lives of Marc Hendler.......... 15 tricians, and New
Westchester Sports: Roller Derby....................................................16-18 York Law mandates
Westchester Events......................................................................... 19, 22 blind bidding on public
contracts to guarantee
Westchester Community Calendar................................................. 20, 21 taxpayers “maximum quality at
Theatre Directory.................................................................................. 23 the lowest possible cost.” Anyone outbid by competitors.
Westchester Retrospective: Washington Irving..................................... 29 who submits “a fraudulent or collusive Tedesco ensured Rossignuolo would
Horoscope........................................................................................30-31 bid, or otherwise conspires to corrupt get jobs illegally by orchestrating phony,
the bidding system, is guilty of a crime high bids from non-existent contrac-
under § 103-e(1) of the state’s General tors, backdating bids, and alerting
Municipal Law. Rossignuolo’s principal, Joe Rossignuolo,
Yet, corrupting the system -- known when his company had been outbid by
in criminal law parlance as “bid rigging” competitors. In this way, Rossignuolo
– is common practice in Mt. Vernon. could lower his bid and ensure taxpayer
A source recently provided The funds lined his pocket.
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly Guardian documents which reveal that Rossignuolo has financial and family
former Buildings Commissioner and ties to Mayor Clinton Young. Young’s
Guardian News Corp. former Deputy Chief of Staff, Brian
P.O. Box 8 registered architect, Ralph Tedesco,
repeatedly doled out taxpayer funds to Boshow, now the Water Commissioner,
New Rochelle, New York 10801 is married to Michelle Capuano.
Rossignuolo Contracting located at 318
Michelle’s sister is Franca Capuano is
Sam Zherka , Publisher & President East 3d Street in Mt. Vernon illegally
married to Joe Rossignuolo and co-owns
Sam Abady, Editor-in-Chief & Vice President by orchestrating phony, high bids from
Rossignuolo Contracting. The Capuanos
non-existent contractors, backdating bids,
are major donors to Mayor Young.
publisher@westchesterguardian.com and alerting Rossignuolo’s principal, Joe
Continued on page 26
editor@westchesterguardian.com Rossignuolo, when his company had been

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Page 26 The Westchester Guardian
Obama’s Populist Double Talk
Continued 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 Film
Studies 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
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Criminal Bid Rigging Rife in Mt. Vernon
Continued from page 2
The Rigged Bid for 406 South 1st
Avenue
In December, 2007, a fire destroyed
406 South 1st Street, a three-family
house 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
Page 28 The Westchester Guardian
Criminal Bid Rigging Rife in Mt. Vernon
Continued from page 26
On August 12, 2009, the City
Council adopted an ordinance autho-
rizing Mayor Young to pay Rossignuolo
$13,800 for “site clearance, removal of
debris 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
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Commissioner, Soraya Ben-Habib, and
Young’s right hand, Brian Boshow.
By law, the Buildings Department
requires all contractors hired by the city
Rajala replied and told Tedesco, in to obtain insurance for each job naming
effect, there was no rush to complete the Mt. Vernon as an additional insured.
demolition because “the process started Rossignuolo simply had to forward
several months ago” and warned “the Verizon’s claim to his insurance carrier --
City can save money by having a new if he had insurance, as the law requires.
owner do the demolition.” It never happened. On October 19,
Tedesco brushed him off, and replied 2009, Michael Lentini,, a staff investi-
gator in Corporation Counsel’s office,
“we will continue to clear this site as
spoke with Rossignuolo, told him he
planned.” He provided no explanation
for his decision, and made no inquiry damaged Verizon’s equipment and that
about the prospective purchaser inter- Verizon was going after Mt. Vernon.
ested in buying the property. Rossignuolo promised the city would be
A source confirmed Rajala was covered. Nothing happened.
infuriated by Tesdesco’s high handed Lentini spoke with Rossignuolo again
on November 16th and again, demanded
behavior, and went to the City Assessor
to raise the ante. DeBellis then inter- Rossignuolo indemnify Mt. Vernon for
the property loss. Again, Rossignuolo
vened, and wrote Tedesco, warning him
“you do not have domain over this prop- promised Mt. Vernon would be covered,
and again, nothing happened.
erty we do. If you procede (sic) it is at
your peril AND expense.” Finally, on December 18, 2009,
Hottinger wrote to Rossignuolo
At this point, Tedesco was trapped,
so he reached out to Hottinger for cover. demanding indemnification and refer-
enced his prior promises to Lentini that
He forwarded her the entire June 11th
E-mail chain and complained “I am made “acknowledgement of the claim and repre-
sentation would be forthcoming,” but none
to feel I am personal (sic) responsible for
was ever provided. Rossignuolo left Mt.
some thing (sic) … and doing my job!”
Vernon exposed on the Verizon claim.
He asked her “what is legal step to take.”
The Guardian made repeated
Hottinger never replied. Secure in the
attempts to speak with Mayor Young
knowledge he could proceed with busi-
about these matters, alerting his secre-
ness as usual, Tedesco gave Rossignuolo
tary the subject matter was “bid rigging
the go ahead and he tore down the North
in the Department of Buildings.” Young
Bond Street and got paid. did not respond.
But the story does not end there.
Likewise, attempts were made to
Cities are responsible for property speak with Hottinger who was involved
damage caused by private contractors
in approving the Rossignuolo payments,
they hire. Apparently, Rossignuolo and the person who put his feet to the
damaged Verizon equipment when he
fire on the Verizon claim. The Guardian
tore down the North Bond Street prop- spoke with one of her assistants and asked
erty, and on August 27, 2009, Verizon
what, if anything, Hottinger intended to
served the Mt. Vernon Corporation do about the bid rigging. The assistant
Counsel with an official Notice of Claim,
was not authorized to speak with the
a legal step required to obtain property press and promised to relay the matter to
damages from municipalities.
Hottinger. She never called back.
Frank Sterling Is Exonerated
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.