Mayor Richard Thomas Blasts the Report As Factually Wrong, Grossly Negligent and Morally Bankrupt
(Thursday, March 25, 2018) — Mayor Richard Thomas calls for City Council to comply with court order and fund an Inspector General in light of unprofessional and unethical report issued by Board of Ethics.
Mayor Thomas’s office released the following statement:
“It is hard to imagine a report that could be more wrong, more grossly negligent and more morally bankrupt.
The claims made against me are as unfounded as they are preposterous. I can say, unequivocally, that I have never accepted a dollar of pay from the Amani Public Charter School as payment for any of my role as a Board member, which was properly documented in my ethical filings. Where a resolution came before the city, I have recused myself in accordance with all city ethical requirements.
In fact, the money in question was not given to me but to the school by the city’s Youth Bureau, for after school programs, a practice that dates to 2013. What kind of so-called Ethics Board, makes such an egregious mistake and then compounds by it by breaching its confidential duty by leaking multiple falsehoods, falsehoods that had been legally addressed by my counsel prior to completion of the report.
For those reasons, it is time for the City Council to finally fund the city’s post of Inspector General, so that the needed reviews of city practices are in fact guided by ethics and professionalism.
“I am dismayed by the willingness of the Board of Ethics to weaponize their appointments for political gain and turn an institution whose role is to preserve the integrity of the government into a ‘kangaroo court.’ Shame on Chairman Lucio, and the entirety of the Board, for abusing their authority and making a mockery of the very office they’ve been appointed to.”
Statement of Laurence D. Laufer, Esq. “We wish to note that the Board’s grossly negligent disregard of the clearly defined limits of its jurisdiction and delegated authority. One could surmise that such recklessness and truly astounding incompetence suggest the Board and its legal mandate are being manipulated by outside parties in service of political agenda. We certainly hope that this is not the case.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL ATTORNEY RESPONSE TO BOARD OF ETHICS, ISSUED FEBRUARY 26 OF 2018.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL ATTORNEY RESPONSE TO BOARD OF ETHICS, ISSUED MARCH 23 OF 2018.
CLICK HERE FOR CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON AND AMANI PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
