New Castle Silence Deafening

by Maureen Keating Tsuchiya

The defendants, Dennis Mahoney, a retired police officer and, John Vize, a New Castle Police Department lieutenant, who is currently responsible for staff services and special events, are charged with misrepresenting
that the retired officer worked as a police officer for a full twenty years when, in fact, he worked only nineteen years under section 63-c of the New York Executive Law, to recover pension benefits paid by the State to Mahoney since on or about August 2000 for a total of $181,629 or $2751.95 per month; and, salary and benefits paid to Vize by the Town of New Castle during the period of his breach of duty on or about August 1999, to on or about July 2000, approximately $100,00 in salary and benefits.

Defendant Lt. John Vize serves as the Police Department’s records offi-cer—which the complaint described as “a position of confidence and trust. Vize owes the Department, the Town, and the Town’s citizens a fiduciary
duty. His fiduciary duty includes, “a duty to perform his services in good faith, a duty of undivided and undiluted loyalty, and a duty to disclose to the Department, and the Town, any information material to transactions in
which he engaged on behalf of the Department.”

According to state rules, “to earn a year of creditable service, an employee must perform paid service for no less than six hours a day and thirty hours a week.” Furthermore, the law provides for increased retirement benefits
for police officers who work for a police department that has elected to participate in, and contribute to, this retirement plan, and who retire, “after the completion of twenty years of total creditable services.” The Town
of New Castle elected to participate in this plan, which entitles police of-ficers to receive a pension, together with an annuity, sufficient to provide the officer with a retirement allowance equal to one-half his or final average
salary.

According to the complaint, Mahoney, who now resides in Carey, North Carolina, did not perform any work for the Department, but continued to receive regular paychecks from the Town of New Castle during the time in
question. Lt. Vize, of Mohegan Lake, as the Department’s records officer was responsible for, among other things, scheduling and recording police officers’ shifts, and maintaining the Department’s payroll records for the
Town. With Lt. Vize’s knowledge, cooperation, and approval, other police officers worked many of the shifts that had been assigned to Mahoney.

Yet when Mahoney filed for retirement in 2000, he represented that he had completed 20 years of service, causing the state to pay Mahoney full pension benefits six years earlier than it would have done. According to a source at New Castle Town Hall, no one has yet resigned, been disciplined, or placed on leave, at anytime, as a result of this matter, including, but not limited to, Town Administrator Gennaro Faiella, or Police Chief Robert Breen. The Town has reportedly adopted a code of ethics for all town employees since this pattern of behavior came to light.

There is a lot of tension within the 40-member New Castle Police Department, which has worked without a contract for more than 19 months. During that time officers have repeatedly conducted informational picketing in downtown Chappaqua and at Town Board meetings, to draw attention to what has been referred to as “the town’s refusal to negotiate in good faith.” Lt. Vize, a union trustee, has been quoted as stating, “This town is loaded. They know it, we know it.”

The Police Department was accredited in 2005 by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Accredited agencies must implement about 130 standards and procedures that contain a clear statement of their professional obligations and objectives. What is not clear is whether the Police Department will retain this state accreditation as a result of this litigation. Currently, no member of the New Castle Town Board has publicly called for any disciplinary actions, or resignations of members of the Department and their chain of command as result of this litigation, and other serious, unsolved, felonies.

Why hasn’t the Town of New Castle looked to other organizations for models of procedures to follow during investigations and prosecutions of ethics violations. For example, most large corporations have compliance groups that govern behavior in the conduct of business. Staff under scrutiny are often placed on leave, paid or unpaid, when circumstances warrant such removal, while independent third-party investigations are conducted.

Reports should have been issued publicly, and promptly, in order to assure taxpaying citizens that laws were being enforced, fairly and evenly, and that appropriate actions were being taken. Why has Town government failed to ful-fill its obligation to the residents of New Castle? What other skeletons does the Town have in its
closet?