Another town board disruption in Jewett

JEWETT―Police were again present at a Jewett Town Board meeting last week where a resident was ordered to leave.

This was the second time in four months the Greene County Sheriff’s Office has assigned a deputy to a routine gathering of local government leaders.

It is not known what caused the sheriff to send someone to the November 12 and February 11 sessions, although the latest turnout of citizens was noticeably larger than normal.

The expelled resident, Tammy Vanucchi, in a subsequent phone interview, said she went to the municipal hall to deliver a message.

Vanucchi said she had formally requested to be on the agenda to discuss “town business,” a request denied by Town Supervisor Greg Kroyer.

New York State law pertaining to town governance states that “although Open Meetings Law gives the public the right to attend town board meetings and to listen to town board deliberations, the public does not have the right to speak at town board meetings except as provided by rules created and adopted by the town board.”

In addition to that law, the town council, in a 4-1 vote in November, enacted new Rules of Order for their monthly get togethers.

Their action followed a series of sit-downs, during the summer and fall, punctuated by heated conversations between Kroyer and Highway Superintendent Robert Mallory.

The discord escalated into a profanity laced shouting match in October involving Kroyer, Mallory and other town council members.

While not naming Mallory, the new rules barred him from sitting at the head table, as he had done for years, and declared that, “members of the public may not speak unless recognized by the supervisor,” eliminating a customary public comment period.

The supervisor was also authorized to, “retain/appoint a sergeant at arms to maintain the civility of the meeting and have those interrupting or preventing the meeting from proceeding, to be removed from town property.”

No force was necessary, last Wednesday night, but as council members attended to regular business, Vanucchi suddenly stood and said, “I’m calling for councilman John Giordano’s resignation.”

Vanucchi was advised to stop―which she did not do―and was then repeatedly asked to leave by Kroyer, saying she was, “out of order.”

The sheriff’s deputy allowed tensions to quickly and peaceably dissipate.

Before exiting, Vanucchi referenced a text recently sent to a Jewett highway Department worker from Giordano’s cell phone.

The same text is the subject of a January 30 letter written to Kroyer by a lawyer representing the town’s highway workers’ union.

In that letter, attorney Kevin Brown states that “it has recently come to the union’s attention that Councilperson and Deputy Town Supervisor John Giordano sent a threatening and wholly inappropriate text message to a bargaining unit member.”

The text, containing Giordano’s cell phone number, shows, “an emoji that―given the surrounding circumstances, is reasonably understood to convey ‘I’m watching you’ or ‘you are being monitored’,” Brown wrote.

A copy of that text, with what appears to be a human eyeball, was attached to the letter from Brown who noted, “the bargaining unit member has reported this incident to the town supervisor.”

Kroyer, in a follow-up phone interview, said the letter was turned over to Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea and delivered to a separate attorney representing the town in highway union matters.

The circumstances surrounding the text have been reported to the sheriff’s office and reportedly discussed by Kroyer, Giordano and the highway worker. Giordano, in a phone interview, offered no comments.

Brown further wrote, “the union understands that [Giordano] and the bargaining unit member are involved in a personal dispute,” which reportedly dates back to 2022.

“This dispute has now been improperly injected into the workplace as a result of the town’s decision to install surveillance cameras―cameras that should not be used to monitor employees or to advance personal grievances,” Brown wrote.

The town board, by a 4 -1 vote last fall, opted to install security cameras at the municipal facility including the highway garage.

“Of particular concern,” Brown continued, “the current draft [memorandum of agreement] grants access to camera recordings and initial review authority to a limited group of individuals, including the deputy town supervisor.”

The union, back in October, had sent a letter to the town seeking specific information about the cameras, including their locations, the type and specifications, and who has access to the recordings.

In that letter, written by Field Representative Richard Whitney, the union requested that the town, “cease and desist from unilaterally installing surveillance cameras and bargain with the union prior to making any changes to any other mandatory subject of negotiation.”

Those cameras have not yet been installed as talks continue between the union and town regarding the memorandum of agreement.

All of this comes amidst a notice of claim served on the Town of Jewett and the town board, in January, by Mallory and Town Clerk Maya Carl.

The potential lawsuit alleges violations of Civil Service Law by the town including, “creating a hostile work environment” for Mallory and Carl, “intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.”

Detailed in the claim are events leading up to and following the execution of a search warrant by the sheriff’s office at the town hall in July of 2025.

The sweep was prompted by “allegations of potentially fraudulent activity,” according to the sheriff’s office, that noted investigators seized, “electronic devices, paper files and business records.”

Nothing more has been heard about the search. But the notice of claim states that Mallory and Carl were the ones who reached out to police about a local building project in the spring of 2025, resulting in the raid and ongoing probe.

According to the notice, Mallory and Carl had conversations with Kroyer, other council members and the town attorney before contacting police about the building project, located on land owned by the town’s Planning Board Chairwoman Barbara Schobel.

“Immediately following plaintiffs’ cooperation with law enforcement, defendants began a campaign to marginalize, embarrass, demean and punish plaintiffs for their cooperation with law enforcement,” the notice alleges.

It is anticipated that Mallory and Carl will be deposed on the notice of claim in the ensuing weeks.