Yet More ROBUTRAD- Handicap ramp and Ethics edition
I’m just catching up to to some of the comments and but some additional names surface in Robutrad.
A spokesman for Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks acknowledged Friday after being questioned by the Democrat and Chronicle that the parents of county finance director Scott Adair had a handicap ramp built at their home by Robutrad workers.
Adair is the brother of Jeff Adair, a Republican county legislator from Wheatland.
Also, a Gates official who had work done at his home — a job also cited in the criminal complaint — is Gates Town Board member Frank Allkofer, who chairs the county’s ethics committee.
Well, that is interesting - The County ETHICS CHAIRMAN asks or solicits or otherwise engages a County worker to perform private work on his personal premises. Oh, yet another example of double dipping at the county level.
Then remember Maggie Brooks announcing the investigation and pledging to leave no stone unturned? Well,
Lebowitz at the time declined to make Scott Adair available for an interview, saying the matter was unrelated to Adair’s job as finance director. Messages left for the Adairs were not returned Thursday evening.
If this is indeed a private matter when why is the County providing a shield to Mr Adair. I support the Adair’s right not to interview - that is their prerogative. But the County should have nothing to do with it so that sentence seems odd.
Anyway - a couple of snips in the article
Lebowitz said Friday that the elder Adairs needed a ramp built at their home and asked Scott Adair for the name of someone involved in contracting. Scott Adair then asked Morone for a contact, and Morone responded directly to the parents, Lebowitz said.
What? Did the parents not ask Scott if this guy was on the level? For references? If the price was reasonable? I find it hard to believe that Scott was not part of a continuing conversation about this ramp. If for nothing else to keep peace at holiday dinners.
Back to the County Ethics Chairman sourcing workers related to the County.
Allkofer acknowledged Friday that he had some of the workers do some painting work at his home last year while he was on vacation. But he said he thought the workers were legitimately provided.
Let me say again - the County Ethics Chairman sourced County workers for private work.
Makes you wonder
Related posts:
- ROBUTRAD: What exactly is Maggie Brooks not telling us? Who benefited that’s what
- City Paper On ROBUTRAD: Leadership Was/Is Lacking
- Esposito admits Robutrad connection, but meanwhile, in Greece…
- Robutrad hammer falls on Ex Gates GOP Chairman and Ex County Employee Bob Morone.
- Gates Supervisor had work done by ROBUTRAD crew
Stupid John DeCaro: (from the county blog site “the spin cycle”):
knee jerk reaction - not too bright for an attorney/town employee/GOP official/town leader - should have waited probably til the FBI asked:
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repoman said, in June 19th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
As some of you know, I am the Gates GOP leader. The Robutrad mess has hit home for us in Gates quite sharply. I felt that it would be appropriate to comment, given the fact that the Gates GOP is being “implicated” in some quarters.
As I am also an attorney, I generally refrain from discussing ongoing legal matters. The legal process will play out and, if Bob Morone and his fellow workers committed the crimes they are accused of, they ought to be punished for them.
Cincinnatus made a very important point, however, about the ongoing attempts to assign guilt by association to members of the Gates GOP political organization. Such efforts are wrong-headed and unfair.
The complaint against Morone spoke of work done for the GOP at fund-raisers, phone banks and political events. While it is true that Bob and some of his crew worked at many events (I set up phone banks in my office on several occasions, for example), those events were always in the evenings or on week-ends, not during work hours.
Moreover, I have worked with hundreds of volunteers over the 35+ years I have been active in politics. Many things motivated those volunteers; ideology, friendship, family relations, work relations, etc. My assumption was simply that Bob had a loyal crew of worker/friends who wanted to support his efforts. It was sad and stunning to learn that they appear to have been engaged in a criminal enterprise. Whether or not people can accept it, the fact is that none of us in the Gates GOP had a clue about it.
I have seen a number of blogs where accusations are being made about Gates GOP members and their “involvement” in the “scandal”. No one in the Gates GOP except Bob Morone was involved in alleged criminal activity. As I noted above, guilt by association should be out-of-bounds.
JB are you sure this isn’t from “Monroe Rising” rather than the spin cycle. I didn’t bother to check myself in that I already have a sour stomach today. Cincinatus (sic) is a frequent poster there
The above “repoman” comment was in MonroeRising… not sure if it was a cross-post from elsewhere.
I agree with Mr. DiCaro that having paid work (or volunteer political activity) done by Robutrad employees is not necessarily in itself a crime. it depends on whether the individuals receiving the work knew who was doing the work and if it was “pay to play”. Also critical is whether there was coercion of the Robutrad employees to perform the work, and if those receiving the work knew about such coercion. We’ll have to see where the investigation leads to find more.
I think some key questions are:
- Did the people who received work on the homes etc. from Robutrad pay for this work, and was it a fair price?
- Was any of the time doing this work billed to the county
- Was any of the time doing “volunteer” political work (phone banks) billed back to the county?
A weaker point of the MonroeRising blog on this issue is to try and tie it back to Unions and WFP. I mean really, don’t they say over and over that WFP and unions are just a tool for for the “extreme left” ?? So are they actually admitting that it’s possible for Union members to actually be politically right-of-center as well? Seems like a contradictory point to me. Clearly this is a Republic mess, not a union mess.
Personally, I find it hard to believe with all of this going on that Robert Marone was the only one who knew there was funny business. But again, we should treat specific individuals as innocent unless proven otherwise.
Just go to the Board of Elections website and do a search on Town Supervisors.
For example, type in Auberger (supervisor of Greece). Click on his January 2009 filing. His ONLY contributors were the Town of Greece employees, ALL who donated the SAME amounts respectively per department and/or job title/rank, and ALL gave their donation WITHIN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.
That’s not coincidence - that’s forced.
One month nets him nearly 20K x 12 years = FRAUD
The other supervisors donations read the same way. THAT IS THE REASON THEY ARE ALL QUITTING.
GUILTY.
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/archives/2004/01/Check-your-gut/
jbiz:
I have looked at the lists of contributor’s from 2006. on They do contain some who are not town employees though clearly many are.Other who have given seem to be those who want favors or want to schmooze up to the town.I think your point holds but you need to broaden the focus.
For example TIm McCormack head (or did he just step down) of Unity health i..e park ridge
Bill Selke, on the planning board I think but not actually a paid town employee.
Bill Pollock who is well into his eighties, though he has been on town boards like “ethics” and may be on the repub committee. I saw Roger Boily on an older list. So it seemingly all all insiders
I am quite sure as you are that contributions are coerced. I believe I saw a town employee on an earlier list who has subsequently left and no longer gives.
Do any normal people contribute to the
republican party (this is an allusion)?
[...] to ex Gates GOP leader and Ex County worker Robert Morone. Additional information comes out - linking a GOP County legislator and the County Finance Director to Bob Morone. The County hiring its own [...]
I can say without any doubt that the 2009 January list is nothing more than a check list off the Town of Greece telephone directory listing exactly with no exceptions. A quick skim of 2008 renders the same conclusion.
Now the FBI needs to take a look at the PAYROLLS of the Republican Towns. In particular in Greece, the quick and sudden departure of Mr. Santangelo, and how his son, and another prominent Republican Assembly members son were on the payroll and received wages for NO SHOW jobs. This will explain why, when workers show up for work, a man with over 25 years experience simply leaves a note on his empty office saying “I Quit” immediately following the Merritt Rahn “Shred-A-Thon”.
It ain’t just ROBUTRAD - It’s ROB U BLIND and in your face.
The citizens of this community need to open their eyes and ears and quite simply–take action. The county scandal is a mess. The talk of “fair market value” is garbage. I am so disappointed in hearing the defense that the District Attorney made on behalf of these corrupt individuals. Check the first press conference about the scandal—the DA is actually up there saying that if fair market value was paid then no crime. Bullsh&t !! It was completely unethical-period. The average citizen in this community can look in the phone book (yellow or white pages) and NOT find Robutrad anywhere–that is because they don’t offer their services to the general public—they were strictly established for the municipality. So, if you want to get remodeling done can YOU call Robutrad for a quote??? And why is it that Robutrad was only able to offer its services to the GOP? There is no way that these officials are now claiming that they did not know–or thought he was a private contractor–or did not do paper quotes— WTF??? Tell me please–how can people listen to this trash. These crooks took advantage of the taxpayers in this county. What people don’t know is that Mike Green apparently goes on vacation with Maggie Brooks and Bob Wisner—that’s right folks, they are friends. So, tell me this–how can a Repubican Sheriff investigate his fellow Republican County Executive who served as his chief fundraiser DURING the investigation? And how can the District Attorney who was once a Republican and for the most part, remained as one, investigate Brooks’ administration when he has vacationed with her and her family and is a friend of hers? Why did he keep the investigation? If he truly wanted to do the right thing then why didn’t he simply hire a special prosecutor from ANOTHER county or send it immediately to the feds. Can anyone out there explain this? It is time to stand up and kick them out of office–ALL OF THEM! Whether they are a Democrat or Republican should not matter. We need to be more like our European friends who truly understand that Government is for the people and by the people.