On Nov. 7, at the board meeting of the Village of Great Neck, a 16-page memo from the legal firm of Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman to the village trustees was distributed to the audience. The memo reported on their investigation of Mayor Richard Deem's actions in the Village of Kings Point and his use of village staff and resources.

It was the conclusion of Laurel Kretzing and Michael White, a partner with expertise in environmental law, that Mayor Deem had "exceeded his authority in directing the village employees to undertake testing and expend resources on a matter that was solely between Kings Point and one of its residents and undertake such involvement in a manner that was perceived by Kings Point to be unwanted interference." The report went on to add that since the sum expended was relatively small ($775) compared to the cost of a lawsuit, and since there was no indication of "practice of misuse of village resources for personal gain," it might not be in the best interests of the village for the trustees to pursue the matter further, legally.

Ms. Kretzing and Mr. White suggest at the end of the document that if the trustees decide not to take further action that the mayor "be counseled on the limits of his jurisdiction and authority."

The report recounts interviews with each employee at the village's sewage treatment plant detailing their actions and understanding of the situation. Two of the men specifically became uneasy about tromping around on private property in another village and refused to go back on further forays. One man recounts that he overheard the plant supervisor question the mayor about whether the trustees were aware of the actions being taken. He reports that the mayor said, "(Expletive) the trustees and (expletive) you for asking."

The report goes into detail about the requirements of the village to comply with stormwater management program (SWMP). There is a section in the law that "is to minimize conflicts between adjacent regulated municipal separate stormwater sewer systems (MS4s) ... It is not a permit requirement for MS4s to implement and enforce any portion of their SWMP in any area that is under the jurisdiction of another MS4."

The mayor had asserted that he had taken his actions in Kings Point to protect the Village of Great Neck from being held responsible for coliform runoffs into the Sound, thereby saving the village "thousands of dollars." The report states, "Therefore, contrary to the perception and conduct of the mayor, the village is expressly not required to implement and enforce any portion of its SWMP in the Village of Kings Point."

The report further confirmed with Carrie Buetow at the DEC Division of Water, a pivotal point, which the Record reported on Sept. 15. The Department of Environmental Conservation does not test for fecal coliform this far west in the Sound, principally because shellfishing is not allowed here and because New York City in times of heavy rainfall releases untreated sewage into the Sound, a fact that trumps runoff many times over.

In their analysis of the legal implications of this situation, the legal team writes, "In this case, while entirely misguided and in excess of authority, the mayor's actions do not appear to have been taken for personal gain or corruption."

Misappropriation for personal gain or corruption was never the issue. Acting outside of the law and the boundaries of the village, unbeknown to the trustees, while putting the village and its employees at risk for liability suits on private property in another village was the issue. At an August meeting of the board of trustees, the trustees asked the mayor to repay the money, which he refused to do stating it would be an admission of guilt. The trustees then announced that they were taking an action to confer with an outside legal firm to investigate what they should do. Deputy Mayor Ralph Kreitzman speaking to Mayor Richard Deem said, "I have no doubt that you had good intentions and thought you were protecting the village...but I believe you acted contrary to law...had it been brought up (with the trustees), we could probably have arrived at a lawful and appropriate course of action without reaching this point."

It was the contention of the trustees that they were taking an investigative action to comply with a village law that essentially requires that public officials not turn a blind eye in a situation where funds or resources have been used without appropriate authorization. The memo states, "Clearly, by its plain language it imposes a duty on the trustees, under pain of personal liability and criminal penalty to investigate the facts surrounding a charge of misappropriation of village assets. However, the language of the statute stops short of actually requiring that an action be commenced." By investigating the action, it would appear that the trustees have fulfilled their legal obligation. The fee for the services of the law firm came to $3,242.

Mayor Deem hired A. Thomas Levin of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein to serve as his legal counsel in the matter. Mr. Levin wrote a letter to the trustees on behalf of the mayor stating that "all of his actions were within the scope of his authority as mayor." He writes that "the institution of any charges or proceedings against Mayor Deem have no foundation in law or fact, and instead constitute an act of political vengeance against him for the personal purposes of the individual board members." He concludes with a warning that if the trustees "continue to pursue a vendetta" against the mayor, he intends to hold each of them personally responsible for all "village funds wasted by such actions." A fee for Mr. Levin's services has not been presented to the board thus far.

Meanwhile, back at the November meeting, sparks flew among members of the board and the mayor. When trustee Mitch Beckerman mentioned the crude language reputed to be used by the mayor in his dealings with staff, which was footnoted in the report as "his normal mode of expression when speaking with them," the mayor strongly objected saying, "Were you there? Were you privy to this conversation? I said I never said it. I don't use words like that. You want to have an argument? Want to make it political?" To which Mr. Beckerman responded, "We're looking to get the money back that was spent incorrectly and want to move on ... that's it. That's it." Mayor Deem retorted, "Go ahead trustee. You said, 'misappropriation'... so continue. Go ahead and bring me into a court, not the public opinion here for the local rags and whatever you think. Go ahead." Mr. Beckerman replied, "The outburst in your attitude leaves a lot to be desired."

Harry Heinemann, who recently ran unsuccessfully for a trustee slot, questioned the timing of Deputy Mayor Kreitzman in making the report public that evening. The mayor had said that he had not read the memo having received it just prior to the meeting. Mr. Kreitzman said that the report had been delivered to the mayor's home around 3 p.m. that day. Mr. Kreitzman acknowledged that he had received the report via email the day before and that he had not wanted to hold the matter off for two more weeks. He stated that he was not asking the mayor to respond to the report that evening.

The Record asked the mayor if in retrospect he thought it would have been more prudent to consult with his trustees prior to taking action in Kings Point. He said that he would have no comment and "there's more at stake here than $750; there's professional reputations ... you can print whatever you want."

Mayor Deem said that he would read the report, have his lawyer review it and respond in writing to the trustees.

(Editor's note: Background information regarding this dispute is available online: Go to www.antonnews.com and visit the Great Neck Record archives for the issues of Sept. 1 and Sept. 15)