Faiella, New Castle DPW Worker May Face Contempt Charge
The attorney for a fired New Castle DPW worker has moved for contempt charges against former Town Administrator Gerry Faiella and a onetime co-worker for failing to answer questions during a deposition last year.
Alan Wolin, the lawyer representing Jeffrey Chiara, who alleges in a lawsuit that he was fired in 2007 after he complained to superiors that co-worker Michael Molnar made repeated anti-Semitic slurs about his wife, filed a motion for contempt on March 24 in state Supreme Court.
The motion stemmed from Faiella and Molnar’s refusal to comply with a Feb. 28 order by state Supreme Court Justice Joan B. Lefkowitz to respond to questions on the advice of the town’s counsel, John Walsh, during an Oct. 21, 2010 deposition.
Lefkowitz’s order states that Molnar was directed not to answer questions pertaining to a guilty plea of an assault charge and leaves of absence from his employment. Walsh also directed Faiella to avoid answering queries regarding Molnar’s leaves of absence, other town employees who have been disciplined and the reasons for Faiella’s decision to retire from the town. Faiella left his post on Dec. 31.
The justice gave Faiella and Molnar two weeks from the time of her order to answer the questions and pay Chiara’s attorney $500 for time and expenses. Wolin said that both individuals had failed to comply to meet Lefkowitz’s March 14 deadline prompting him to file the contempt motion. As of last week they still had not complied, he said.
Repeated messages left for Walsh at his White Plains office last week were not returned.
In her order directing the pair to respond to the unanswered questions, Lefkowitz noted that defense counsel advised Faiella and Molnar against addressing certain topics because of irrelevance or that it was privileged information. On other occasions during the deposition no reasons for the unresponsiveness were given.
Lefkowitz stated that it is “improper” to instruct a witness not to answer questions while being deposed except on limited grounds. She also concluded that the town’s counsel failed to demonstrate how some of the questions invade a legally recognized privilege or privacy concerns.
“In addition, ‘irrelevant’ is not one of the enumerated exceptions and counsel has failed to demonstrate that the questions were plainly improper and would cause significant prejudice,” Lefkowitz ruled in part.
When reached recently, Chiara said he was not surprised during the deposition that Faiella and Molnar refused to answer questions and it was predictable town officials haven’t complied with the order considering how New Castle officials have handled the matter.
“This is very consistent with their blatant disregard for the law and a judge’s order,” Chiara said.
Chiara, a motor equipment operator for 14 years, has been on disability for a work-related back injury. He underwent back surgery earlier this month.
The town has maintained that Chiara was a troublesome employee and was terminated for a series of misconduct charges.
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