Mayor Turns Table on Ethics Board; Funds for Probe Denied
In an unexpected partial bipartisan vote, the Peekskill Common Council last week denied a request from the city’s Ethics Board to hire legal counsel to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of bullying and intimidation of some city staff by Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina.
Catalina and fellow Republicans Vincent Vesce and Joe Torres were joined by Democratic Councilman Darren Rigger in voting against a resolution authorizing an attorney for a maximum $1,500. Democratic councilwomen Kathy Talbot and Vivian McKenzie voted for the expenditure, while Deputy Mayor Drew Claxton was absent.
Ironically, Rigger was the spokesperson for the Democratic majority when they sent out a press release making claims against Catalina that were the thrust of the inquiry by the Ethics Board. When asked a few days later about his vote, Rigger said he had no comment, other than he was “shocked” Catalina didn’t recuse himself.
During a work session prior to the meeting, Catalina lambasted Judith Ehren, chairwoman of the Ethics Board, for not revealing that she served as treasurer of former Mayor Mary Foster’s reelection campaign against Catalina last year. The mayor said he filed a complaint against Ehren with the city manager, but the complaint was simply forwarded to the council.
“You come in here like you’re the czar of ethics. You were the treasurer of a candidate that I beat and you’re going to investigate that big, bad bully in the woods. It’s disgraceful,” Catalina asserted. “It’s a complete outrage all around.”
No formal complaint was filed with the Ethics Board against Catalina. Ehren, who was appointed in 2008 and did not address the mayor’s comments last week, said a few weeks ago it was the first time the Ethics Board was looking into something on its own.
Rigger and McKenzie maintained Catalina should recuse himself from the public vote. The mayor responded by saying McKenzie, Talbot and Claxton should not vote since they all received campaign contributions from Ehren.
“Is it illegal?” McKenzie said. “You’re showboating as usual.”
“It’s unethical,” Catalina remarked.
Vesce said the Democrats were uneasy that the Republicans voted into office were trying to make changes to make City Hall run more efficiently.
“I think the whole issue is a waste of taxpayers’ money and time. It’s unnecessary,” he said. “Every time we ask a question we’re labeled as bullies. The citizens of Peekskill are not stupid. They can see what’s going on.”
Talbot defended Ehren’s ethics and said she was unaware of any investigation being conducted by the Ethics Board.
“I don’t want to run this government by putting out press releases,” said Talbot, although she admitted approving the disputed press release distributed by the Democratic majority. “If there are no charges then there are no charges.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/