THE HEZITORIAL: Hypocrisy Continues to Reign Supreme in Yonkers By HEZI ARIS

YONKERS, NY -- November 10, 2012 -- It was revealed a few days ago that Lawrence A. Porcari, Jr., Esq., employed by the City of Yonkers Law Department as an Associate Corporation Counsel, on June 18,  2012, had addressed the Hon. Collen McMahon, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York on behalf of former Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi with regard to a court case alleging her dropping opposition to the Ridge Hill Development Project allegedly seduced by gifts she received from former GOP Chair Zehy Jereis. Mr Porcari addressed Judge McMahon on official City of Yonkers, Department of Law stationery. When Yonkersites learned of Mr Porcari using official stationery they were not only aghast, but they demanded he be fired.

Yonkers Tribune / The Westchester Guardian learned Mr. Porcari was indeed suspended for 30 days without pay. The outcry was of such intensity that Mr Porcari is made to suffer a public rebuke in a manner many people will infer and surmise is a balanced response to his lack of etiquette.

Before the facts are out and weary of the ConEd crisis, Yonkersites have been deflected and consumed by the “audacity” [editorial sarcasm] of Mr Porcari’s faux pas. Where is Miss Manners when you need her?

At issue is the stationery Mr Porcari used. No effort or concern whether the government has proven their case against the two defendants. The bigger issue is whether the government proved their case. In fact it was Judge McMahon who was first to question the veracity of the government’s case during a break in which the Jury was sequestered and incapable of hearing her demanding the government prove their case.

Perhaps Mr Porcari, among others who questioned the process, found it fitting and proper to address the court on behalf of Ms Annabi. In fact, this reporter wrote to Judge McMahon on behalf of each of the defendants. The prosecution brought up many issues that were later to be unproven. The prosecution’s facts disintegrated under cross-examination. I attended the court trial and had hoped Judge McMahon would overturn the jury verdict because the government “proof” was wanting and inconclusive. In Yonkers, issues of proof and truth are too easily maligned by arm-twisting politicians who lust to exact their toll on those they can. Mayor Mike Spano willed it and so it has come to pass that Mr Porcari will lose approximately $10,000 for his “misdeed”. 

Should one care to follow the logic imposed against Mr. Porcari, one would need to delve into why Mr Porcari cannot solicit the empathy of the court using government stationery when it is known that Mayor Mike Spano beseeched the court to be compassionate in their ruling over his brother, former Senator Nick Spano, which was likewise written on official government stationery. Does not Amerika subscribe to what is good for the goose is good for the gander? Were America so righteous in its conduct, behavior condoned in Yonkers would not be so easily appeased.

While ConEd struggled to restore electricity to all Yonkersites, a gasoline shortage revealed itself. Gasoline stations did not have power by which to pump fuel. Lines of as long as 6 hours formed to wait one’s turn to get fuel for electric generators and to fill gas tanks. Tempers flared. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano declared a 10-gallon maximum allowance of fuel per fill up. That brilliant effort reduced the length of stay at gas stations that had electrical power to pump fuel and had fuel to pump from the 6-hour wait to 3-hours within a day’s time and eventually down to 1-hour as of Friday, November 9, 2012. But the goose did not suffer like the gander. 

It seems that Yonkers Police Department personnel were permitted to fill their gas tank to the brim at the taxpayer’s expense; so did their wives and girlfriends. The “Gasboy” operation was respectively conducted at the First and Third Precincts.  G_d Bless America. 

When will we stand for nothing less than transparency, truth, facts, clarity, and ethical conduct?  Instead, we pontificate while espousing the mullarkey knowing that Annabi and Jereis are the latest to be sacrificed for the public interest so that the “ra ra ra, sis boom bah” teams can maintain their T count filling their gas tank on the taxpayer’s dollar. Bruce Ratner, the Milio family, Capelli Enterprises, Joe Cotter’s operation, even the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, among so many others will remain to fleece Yonkers for many days forward. 

Yonkers has become a nightmare. What are we going to do about it?

Canning Mayor Mike Spano a month’s salary would be an appropriate start. 

Comments

[ONLY IN YONKERS]

http://www.lohud.com/assets/pdf/BH196898118.PDF

thanks Hezi...

[julio1888]

ypd very quiet.....very quiet

[Confused]

I've several of these posts by different "posters" , my question is what does this very quiet ypd mean? It has been posted on several threads. Juilo 1888 can you please enlighten the uniformed. Thanks.

[yonkers resident]

what proof is there that people's girlfriends are filling up at city pumps? who are these people letting their girlfriends and wives fill up. print the names.

[Yellow Journalist]

Absolute bullshit about the gas, you should be fucking ashamed of yourself for writing that Hezi

[Holla]

Hezi, you are an absolute windbag!! You mean to tell me that cops risked losing their jobs so they could get 10 gallons of gas for free??!! You sir, are an absolute idiot and a perfect example of the total lack of talent needed to run any risky dink blog....ass

[Unethical anyone you look at it]

The surface issue is the stationery used by Porcari, but it is not the real issue. His violation of ethics is the real issue. Porcari is a horrible lawyer and an even lesser person. He is a member of the Conservative Party and will do anything, legal or illegal, to please his handler, Gale Burns. Writing to the judge on official stationery as an Associate Corporation Counsel gave the impression that it was an official communication regardless of the fact that it is marked as unofficial. Sending a purposefully misleading communication is unethical. Even if he was secretly acting for the mayor or for Gale Burns, he is an employee of the citizens of Yonkers and he should be fired. The excuse that 'I was just following orders.' was rejected ages ago.

[The proof is in the lack of records]

Way to go Hezi. For those demanding proof of the misuse of gas, ask yourselves why won't the city account for the gas usage at the precincts. Also, why won't the Inspector General investigate the gas use and the lack of records for that use.

[Bald Headed Wonder]

Gas usage is supposed to be accounted for, by vehicle, employee, mileage. If the gasboy system is broken, where is the lock and logbook and key at the pct desk?Any employee can get gas at any facility. There should be records. Whoever is accountable should be fired along with the person misusing the system, if anyone is.

[Stop Ripping Us Off]

Who is misusing the system? Let's start with that STATE employee, Judge MARTINELLI. He is driving a YONKERS city car and using YONKERS city gas. All for him to commute on our tax dollars.

[What gives.]

Oh so the truth comes out Hezi. Dunphy who wouldn't be Spano bitch , decided to have ethics and leave this sinking ship. How leaves Yonkers and goes to Peekskill unless they want nothing to do w how corrupt Yonkers is. Dunphy gave porcari this suspension before he left but yet how come I seen Larry at his desk on Friday. I call bullshit Hezi. If you get suspended it takes place immediately. So being as Ed left Thursday ( he will be missed because he was such a stand up guy ) and Larry was still at his desk Spano isn't going through w this BS suspension. And if it is true that Larry is connect to Gail than all the pieces have fallen into place. I mean come on this guy writes a letter on
City of Yonkers Law Department Letter Head that he stole and he isn't even fired or suspended. What gives Hezi. This needs to. E front page of Westchester Gaurdian.

[Get your facts straight]

He was suspended and didn't write the letter at request of Gail Burns. He along with others that worked for city and elsewhere wrote letters at Sandy's request. Saying he stole city letterhead is far fetched.

[anon]

please stop complaining about judge martinelli having
a city car...the chief adminstrative judge of yonkers
has always had one...he is in full compliance with
the rules of the state courts and the agreements that
are in place before and after court consolidation
and for you to suggest anything else is ludicrous

[threesidesto truth]

To the point of order on this article, yes the two individuals going to jail are just face service for the public. The real perps who have actually commited no crimes are walking away with the money legally thanks to Amicone, IDA, Now mayor Spano and his past consulting job, and ratner have all done far more damage to yonkers than people can fathom. Exponential tax savings while we pay for it. Once again please dont insult anyone and tell of the sales tax and jobs created, it will never come close to the tax savings afforded this project. The city would have been better off allowing someone to build single family homes on that site.

[What gives.]

Heah get your facts right ... As per Ed statement he states mr. Porcari did not have permission which means he stole the letter head an wrote an unauthorized letter. What else would u call it that he borrowed the letterhead ???

[anon]

the project over time will generate income far
in excess of what the developer saves in taxes..
without tax incentives which every IDA across the
nation engages in you could never get a developer
ratner or anyone else to put a dime in a location
like ridge hill and take that kind of risk ..it is
precisely because of the tax incentives that ridge
hill was built and aside from the tax issue how about
the jobs created and the income taxes paid by those
employed...how about the convenience provided to
all those who shop and eat there...you would keep
sites like that vacant?...how would that help a city
like yonkers which will have a 400 million dollar
budget gap in 3 years?..the only caveat is that
whenever there is a bribe paid...and a project like
ridge hill gets approval solely based on that bought
vote, the developer should be subject to a confiscatory
penalty..which would make everyone involved think twice
before making a bribe offer particulary the only
entity that actually benefits from the vote change
and that is what never made sense about this prosection
because jeries was never going to be the primary beneficiary from the project.the most he was going to
get and that was up in the air at best was a 60,000
one year consulting gig....and for that he paid
180,000 over ten years? something is missing..still

[threesidesto truth]

Once again, how can a sales tax generated project compare with an exponential tax base savings to the developer. If sales are slow, yonkers gets less, if they dont hire that many people, yonkers gets less. When they raise my taxes, it is based on an amount that was raised over decades, so the dollar amount is exponentially higher. Can you say that about sales tax or income tax?
Like I said, someone could have built single family homes on the site, made a neighborhood and brought more consumers to the area with one fell swoop.
This would have also made a more stable tax base not dependent on variables. If we have what they call "essential services" why would you fund them with non-essential money?

[The idiot]

Hezi, where did you get the information that membes of the police department were able to fill their personal vehicles with gas? I smell bs again coming from you. You are an idiot if you think that is true. But then again, you are an idiot. Check your meds, I think they're out of balance like you.

[Baloney]

I get it, say it like a lawyer, with authority, and all of a sudden it is supposed to be accepted as truth. I say 'baloney' mr. lawyer. If you can point us to a section of the city charter or code that authorizes a State Judge to have one of our cars, then do so. Otherwise, shut your lying cover-up mouth.

The chief judge has not always had a car, it was a relatively recent addition after the State takeover. If someone else in that position also had a car, that does not make it right. Yonkers is in financial trouble and the cars were to be taken away (another Spano lie) from those who are non-essential. Judge Martinelli is a State employee and is as non-essential as can be to the operation of Yonkers.

We should not be paying for his commute, his gas, or his car insurance. What's worse, if he is ever in an accident, Yonkers could be liable for the damages. And, as an attorney, you know that the city's insurance carriers will try and avoid coverage because he is a non-covered person.

[Same old games]

Well, well, well!

I recall Mayor Mike Moron used Yonkers stationary to ask the judge for leniency for his felon brother Nick before his bullshit sentence.

Mayor Mike Moron should get 2-months suspension considering he is the “Boss” and he did the very same thing.

It doesn’t matter; Mike will be having Christmas dinner with Felon Nick in Yonkers because his sentence was a joke and he will be home before this year is up.

Al DelBello is arranging more ways to make more money for him and the Spano family while screwing the Yonkers taxpayers in the process (as usual.)

Keep your eyes open for a new monster development right where it is not wanted or needed……

[anon]

to say that the chief judge of the city is non
essential is about as dumb a comment i have ever
heard...the city court of yonkers is one of the busiest
in the state handling thousands of criminal and other
matters every year...without that court and its judges
you would have chaos...arrested criminals would not
be arraigned in 72 hours and would have to be released
among other things...trials could not be conducted and
your life would be made more miserable than it is right
now...and there is nothing recent about the chief judge
having a city vehicle..the practice dates back about
25 years...and there has to be no statutory provision
for that car ..where did you get that from...i suggest
you stop whining about a single vehicle for a judge
that everyone respects and who does his job well..and
worry about something a bit more important

[LIONS AND TIGERS AND MAYORS, OH MY]

"you recall" spano's using stationery in the same way??? Can you even read? It is mentioned in Hezi's editorial to which you are commenting and has beeen commented upon in other postings.

[Baloney]

You are nothing more than an arrogant shill for whomever you are trying to protect. My comment about being non-essential was related to the man himself and you know that. The city court is a city court in name only. It is run by the state with state employees. For you to intimate otherwise is nothing more than purposefully misleading. Then, you throw more BS and hope it sticks, like saying that it has been going on for 25 years. You were challenged to prove you point, Anon, but all you did was spew your BS. In other words, you are full of it, Anon, and, as a lawyer, are just covering up for a judge (what a surprise!).

We are a city of taxpayers and our resources are being misused. Every journey starts with the first step. Taking a car away from anyone who doesn't deserve it, as in Judge Martinelli's case, saves the Yonkers taxpayers money.

[No More Taxes]

There should not be any take home cars period, except for the mayor. Everyone else can get to work on their own dime. With the advent of cell phones and smart phones any emergency business can be conducted anywhere.

[Baloney]

Thank you, that is exactly my point.