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The Frankfort Village Board recently hired a Utica law firm to deal with several legal claims and a civil lawsuit involving the village police chief.
Village board members on March 18 by a 5-0 vote authorized Mayor Frank Moracco to look into hiring special legal counsel, according to village records. The board on March 30 voted via a phone poll to retain the Petrone and Petrone law firm as special legal counsel effective immediately.
The vote approved a $5,000 retainer for the firm with an hourly rate of $175 for attorneys and $100 for paralegals, according to village records. Village officials said the contract is for 90 days.
Mayor Frank Moracco said the phone poll was necessary to retain the firm’s services under emergency circumstances. The village board officially accepted the phone poll at its meeting on April 8, voting 4-0 with Trustee John Spina absent.
The firm will deal with several legal matters involving police Chief Steven Conley, Moracco said.
Petrone and Petrone officials did not return a request for comment.
There is currently a federal lawsuit against Conley, Moracco and other village officials, which is in the discovery phase, that claims Frankfort resident Harold Griffin was falsely imprisoned and assaulted during an election night scuffle.
Since Griffin was found not guilty in a Little Falls City Court bench trial of charges related to the scuffle, the lawsuit also involves a claim of malicious prosecution.
Another alleged altercation between Griffin and Conley, which took place last May at a Stewart’s Shop convenience store in Frankfort, may also result in a lawsuit against the village and law enforcement official.
Charges of harassment, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest against Griffin were dropped after District Attorney John Crandall learned one of his witnesses, Frankfort police Officer Samuel Ameduri III, had filed a notice of claim that accused Conley of asking him to change his testimony in the case, according to Griffin’s attorney Mark Wolber.
Conley is accused of grabbing Ameduri by the throat and throwing him against the trunk of a police vehicle, according to the notice of claim. The incident became physical after Ameduri refused to change his sworn testimony, the claim states.
The notice, filed by Utica attorney Ricardo Mauro, also states that Ameduri is seeking damages for past and future pain and suffering, lost wages, uncovered medical expenses and any other remedies permitted by law.
The other notice of claim accuses Conley of grabbing county Coroner Daniel Enea by the shoulder and pulling him into a room to discuss an investigation into the death of a 56-year-old Frankfort woman last year. Wolber is also representing Enea.
Wolber said the ongoing lawsuit is made stronger by the number of alleged incidents and Griffin not being convicted of any of the charges against him.
The Frankfort Village Board recently hired a Utica law firm to deal with several legal claims and a civil lawsuit involving the village police chief.
Village board members on March 18 by a 5-0 vote authorized Mayor Frank Moracco to look into hiring special legal counsel, according to village records. The board on March 30 voted via a phone poll to retain the Petrone and Petrone law firm as special legal counsel effective immediately.
The vote approved a $5,000 retainer for the firm with an hourly rate of $175 for attorneys and $100 for paralegals, according to village records. Village officials said the contract is for 90 days.
Mayor Frank Moracco said the phone poll was necessary to retain the firm’s services under emergency circumstances. The village board officially accepted the phone poll at its meeting on April 8, voting 4-0 with Trustee John Spina absent.
The firm will deal with several legal matters involving police Chief Steven Conley, Moracco said.
Petrone and Petrone officials did not return a request for comment.
There is currently a federal lawsuit against Conley, Moracco and other village officials, which is in the discovery phase, that claims Frankfort resident Harold Griffin was falsely imprisoned and assaulted during an election night scuffle.
Since Griffin was found not guilty in a Little Falls City Court bench trial of charges related to the scuffle, the lawsuit also involves a claim of malicious prosecution.
Another alleged altercation between Griffin and Conley, which took place last May at a Stewart’s Shop convenience store in Frankfort, may also result in a lawsuit against the village and law enforcement official.
Charges of harassment, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest against Griffin were dropped after District Attorney John Crandall learned one of his witnesses, Frankfort police Officer Samuel Ameduri III, had filed a notice of claim that accused Conley of asking him to change his testimony in the case, according to Griffin’s attorney Mark Wolber.
Conley is accused of grabbing Ameduri by the throat and throwing him against the trunk of a police vehicle, according to the notice of claim. The incident became physical after Ameduri refused to change his sworn testimony, the claim states.
The notice, filed by Utica attorney Ricardo Mauro, also states that Ameduri is seeking damages for past and future pain and suffering, lost wages, uncovered medical expenses and any other remedies permitted by law.
The other notice of claim accuses Conley of grabbing county Coroner Daniel Enea by the shoulder and pulling him into a room to discuss an investigation into the death of a 56-year-old Frankfort woman last year. Wolber is also representing Enea.
Wolber said the ongoing lawsuit is made stronger by the number of alleged incidents and Griffin not being convicted of any of the charges against him.
