Our Readers Respond...

An Open Letter to Judge William Giacomo


Dear Judge Giacomo,

I am writing to let you know how my three children are doing since you have taken them from their mother. Unfortunately,
sir, DEEPEST POCKETS do not parent better than DEEPEST HEART.

Since you have written your decision, or should I say since Barry Swersky, with the assistance of Therese Malach, law guardian,
has written the decision that you signed off on, nearly a year after the trial, the emotional state of my three beautiful children
has deteriorated. They are angry, confused and depressed. They cannot understand why they are being punished.

They are acting out in school, camp, with friends and, most noticeably with me, their mother. Enclosed is a letter my daughter
wrote to you last July, 2006 after the in-camera interview you had with her and the law guardian, Therese Malach. She now
cannot understand why, after expressing to you and the law guardian her feelings, she has been taken from her mother.

She told me back then that she and your daughter shared the same name and that you were “…a nice man, and would not take her from her home, I just know it Mommy…” Do you ever stop to consider your own words, at trial (taken directly from the transcripts) “…These are not parenting issues, they are issues between two parents. These kids are doing great. They are happy, healthy, and someone is obviously
doing something really nice with them…” “…and your daughter is a doll…” The facts and the truth have been swept under the PLUSH carpet of the DEEPEST POCKETS, and I just have one question for you, Your Honor, and the law guardian... HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?

Suzanne Stephans, Irvington

cc: The Westchester Guardian


Desperate Plea to Judge Pfau

Dear Editor:

The following is an open letter to Judge Ann T. Pfau, Chief Administrative Judge of the State Court System:

As of today, July 3, 2007, Judge Peter Forman continues ignoring my numerous letters to him requesting a court-appointed
attorney. My next court date is July 12. I have less rights than the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by being in the 9th Judicial District which employs my ex-wife who works for Judge Francis Nicolai.

I can no longer attend Family Court in the 9th Judicial District. My civil rights have been violated. Please move my case to the Bronx.

Tim Wilson


Peekskill’s Jan Peek House - A Beacon In A Sea of Tyranny

Dear Editor:


It is important for us, from time to time, to reflect upon the events of our lives and see how we got to where we are today. By the standards of the society, I would be considered successful. Gainfully employed with two jobs, never missed a day’s work, pay my own way, established good credit and seem to be doing the things a responsible citizen would do.

I would like to acknowledge that this could not have been possible had it not been for the love and unselfish caring of the staff of Jan Peek
House who are the embodiment of the very mission this great establishment was founded on. Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “Give love and unconditional acceptance to those you encounter, and notice what happens.” I can tell you what happened in my case:

In April of last year I was released from prison a er doing 18 years. I endeavored to earn back my right to be a citizen in the free world. To my surprise, many of the social and religious agencies who are mandated to assist people in my position only observed my situation with impersonal distance. Their scripture even warns about ignoring the needs of even ‘the least among us’. Where examples of love and compassion are absent, inhumanity, hatred and violence will likely fill the vacuum.

God directed my feet to Jan Peek House. I was greeted by staff with a warm smile, and an invitation to put my bags and my burdens down.
Even a superficial message of love and hope beats none at all.

I was invited to stay and avail myself of the opportunity to re-acclimate myself to the society I had left so long ago. Certainly the world had changed and I had resolved to turn my life around and regain my dignity and self respect by being a law-abiding citizen.

But sometimes good intentions are not enough. At Jan Peek, at every turn, on every shift, there is staff willing to listen, help, direct and give you advice and comfort. With each trip up the hill, or to a job interview, I was cheered on and supported and when I returned many times and things did not go too well, there was always a sympathetic ear.

They deserve great recognition for their work. They are tools of transformation. They kneel down in the sea of human suffering and dirty
their hands with service. They highlight the value of human life and the importance of loving, supportive treatment toward others.

I have watched Peekskill undergo a great transformation. Buildings where there were none before. New businesses. Urban renewal and downtown revitalization. I often asked myself, “what about the people? Is anyone doing anything to rebuild the shattered lives and broken dreams of people who have fallen short of life’s mark? I represent to you that Jan Peek House undertakes this monumental task where other religious and social agencies have fallen short. They are the unsung heroes. Jan Peek is just as much a part of the soul and fiber of our city as some of the greatest establishments and institutions. I urge anyone who reads this to call the facility and see how you can help.

Someone once said, “A love that defies all logic, is sometimes the most logical thing in the world.” Through the work of Jan Peek we see God’s unconditional love. The love for the addict, the homeless, the battered, the mentally ill, the ex-convict, the runaway. None of us are completely without sin, fault or acts of ill intent towards others.

None of us travel through life completely guiltless in our conscience. Fortunately, we have words such as forgiveness, reconciliation, grace
and mercy to soften judgment’s iron fist. And fortunately we have places like Jan Peek that stands as a beacon near our river, and says with
its deeds: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,…send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me…”

Anonymous


Kudos From Bronxville

Dear Editor:


We are avid readers of The Guardian and have enormous respect for its efforts to eradicate the corruption that permeates Westchester County.

We wish the newspaper great success in its totally justified litigation in Federal Court. We felt for some time that the paper merits wide distribution in the County and we are currently making sure that certain key people are receiving the weekly issues. The response, of course, has been so overwhelmingly positive.

We only wish there were more Richard Blassbergs on the scene. After a nice telephone conversation with Mr. Blassberg we sent two communications that were not answered. We assumed his ‘plate was full’ with many extremely important issues. One communication concerned a development in the New York State Chief Judge’s office. At this point I’m sure the issue is far better known to him than it is to us.

Our case, which originated nearly eight years ago in the Westchester Supreme TORT, has evolved, inevitably, into three separate litigations.
Eventually when the INSANITY ends, our SAGA will rival many of the NIGHTMARES The Guardian has been addressing.

We’ve endured a series of menacing “anonymous” telephone messages – one of the more moderate threatening to put my husband Carl “out of business” if he refused to drop his case against (SL)UDGE Aldo Nastasi! The source of the calls is becoming rather obvious. The $leazy, bumbling, fumbling POWER CRAZY CROOKS carried out their outrageous threat, precipitating our third case against the SEC, or Society for the Ethically Challenged (practitioners of Slander, Extortion and Criminality).

Carl has been a leading money manager, consistently ranking in the top twenty in world surveys and named Manager of the Year in 2006.
He has been admired and respected by the entire investment community for his entire professional career. Fortunately, he is also a maverick
with a legal background who will never concede to corruption.

Once again, we wish The Guardian the very best. If there is any way we can bolster the effort for wide distribution of The Guardian, just
say the word.

Joan Lawrence, Bronxville


Message From Someone in the Belly of the Beast

Dear Editor:


Ahh, life in Arrogant Andy’s County... Also includes his lousy 25 million (in)security system, which is vulnerable as hell and never really tested, nor weaknesses explored until the murder in the Galleria parking structure across the street. It might have been patched in places but the main vulnerability (see those police cars parked outside everyday, they are a ‘patch’, a band-aid) has never been addressed.

The main problem with Andy’s county government, as I see it, is the total disregard for civil service law when promoting from within. Civil
Service Law means NOTHING to the commissioners. They promote their ‘favorites’ even when the ‘favorites’ are not in a position to be promoted and other qualified people are available.

Do not forget, Civil Service Law is not there just to protect the jobs of the clerks and supervisors, and other underlings, it is there to protect us all. Protect us by making sure the best, and most qualified, people are doing the work, NOT the flunkies with the brownest noses. To me, this is why children die at Playland and the social service system is a mess. The brown noses cannot think, they only react.

A Civil Servant


In Our Opinion...

Sodom and Gomorrah


It’s difficult to look at the regimes of Mayors Ernie Davis, of Mount Vernon, and Phil Amicone, of Yonkers, and not be aware of their striking similarity, each having acquired and secured their position through the machinery of municipal clubhouse politics. And, although Davis has been Mayor for three terms, a total of twelve years, Amicone, who is finishing up his first term, was right there, at John Spencer’s elbow for eight years as Deputy Mayor; to hear him tell it, deeply involved in the decision-making process right along.

Having said that, We believe it would not be unfair to suggest that the present condition of each city, Mount Vernon, and Yonkers, can largely be attributed to the actions, and/or lack of action of each, now standing for re-election as mayor. How else may one assess the prospective performance of one who offers himself for high public office and public trust, who is an incumbent, other than by evaluating the product of his labor? Measured against such a standard We must sadly conclude that Davis and Amicone have each been abject failures, little more than caretakers, at best, not likely to improve the circumstances of the city they have been entrusted with, if placed back into their present positions. In short, We believe Ernie Davis and Phil Amicone have not only squandered vast human and financial resources, but also the wonderful opportunity to bring about significant positive change.

Consider the fact that Mount Vernon and Yonkers are each under Federal Investigation, subpoenaed by the United States Attorney’s Office, in connection with projects and programs involving huge sums of money. Mayor Davis has repeatedly acknowledged publicly his inability to account for more than $3 million of federal housing funds that have seemingly disappeared. In Yonkers the FBI is looking into governmental maneuverings over the past few years by which mammoth residential and commercial development projects involving billions of dollars have negotiated the hurdles of municipal review. There’s a distinct odor of fish somehow attached to these financial mysteries.

However, the handling of funds is but one area of concern, but certainly not the issue of greatest concern, or most immediate impact upon the daily lives of the residents of each city. Their worries, on the one hand, tend to involve crime, and the activities of the police, and on the other, property taxes and the quality of public education. As regards crime, there is no denying that street crime and gun violence in both Yonkers and Mount Vernon have been spiraling out of control under Amicone and Davis respectively. Additionally, the Yonkers Police Department has had, and continues to have, a well-deserved reputation for police brutality, a problem neither Phil Amicone nor Commissioner Hartnett have made any convincing effort to abate.

In Mount Vernon, the street violence is every bit as alarming, if not more so. However, in fairness We must recognize the fact that after several failed attempts, Mayor Davis did finally succeed in bringing in a dedicated, very competent, Top Cop, Commissioner David
Chong. Unfortunately, We do not get the impression that the Mayor, when confronted with difficult choices that might enhance public safety, and the delivery of professional police work, at the necessary expense of political cronyism, gets his priorities straight most
of the time.

As regards property taxes, and the quality of education in each city, it would appear that there is somehow a reverse relationship; as taxes continue to rise, the quality of education continues to decline. It is common knowledge that taxes in New York State are the highest in the nation, and Westchester has the highest taxes in the state. Given the inferior performance of public schools in Yonkers and Mount Vernon, in the face of such an oppressive tax burden, many families have actually begun a reverse migration, over the past few years, from each of these cities back to neighborhoods in the Bronx.

The decay and destruction of formerly strong, proud neighborhoods and public schools under Davis and Amicone has been the inevitable product of corrupt, uninspired administrations more concerned with satisfying, and fattening political powerbrokers and criminal
elements such as Giulio Cavallo, Zehy Jereis, Nicky Spano, Larry Schwartz, Reggie LaFayette, and their ilk, than with bringing about meaningful reform and social benefit to their constituents. In short, We believe Ernie and Phil have been marching to the beat of the wrong drummers for quite some time, and are not likely to alter their cadence anytime soon.