A conference Tuesday may end the long dispute over investigators’ access to the limousine involved in the October crash that killed 20 people in Schoharie.
Schoharie County Judge George Bartlett issued a court order Friday scheduling the conference to get District Attorney Susan Mallery and federal investigators to agree on the access.
And if Ms. Mallery and the National Transportation Safety Board can’t agree, Judge Bartlett will rule on the access, he wrote in the court order.
Ms. Mallery and NTSB officials have been arguing for months––sometimes bitterly––whether NTSB investigators should have access to the limo.
The NTSB is a federal agency whose task is to investigate major accidents and advocating safety recommendations. Ms. Mallery believes her role––building a criminal case against the Prestige Limousine operator––takes precedence.
In a series of letters and emails between the DA’s office, NTSB and the court, Ms. Mallery argued her intent “is to preserve the integrity of the crucial pieces of evidence in this case.
“Let me be clear: the necessary inspections and tests are being conducted by qualified experts [State Police investigators]. . .”
In her January 16 letter to Judge Bartlett, Ms. Mallery contended that the State Police cooperated with the NTSB, including sharing “much of its investigatory information,” plus “photographs, witness depositions and other evidence.”
And, she wrote, NTSB representatives were present when State Police searched the vehicle and the NTSB can conduct its investigation “at the appropriate time.”
Further, Ms. Mallery concluded, “The families of the 20 deceased young people deserve a fair trial. If the NTSB’s intervention, and the Court’s continuing cooperation with it, result in evidence being tampered with or destroyed by a non-party to the criminal proceeding, the People’s ability to go forward will be impaired significantly. We simply cannot allow evidence to be tainted, altered or destroyed.”
Kathleen Silbaugh, general counsel for the NTSB, countered that Ms. Mallery has been uncooperative, hung up on a conference call and has shown an apparent “lack of candor” in discussions.
As for Ms. Mallery’s claim that NTSB investigators have been involved since the beginning, the agency maintained that its investigators haven’t been allowed within 15 feet of the limo, which is under a tent at State Police Troop G headquarters in Latham.
In a January 14 letter to Judge Bartlett, Ms. Silbaugh asked him to intercede.
“We understand the Court’s reluctance to interject itself in this matter, however it is apparent that our interactions directly with District Attorney Mallery are not productive and are unlikely to resolve the impasse,” Ms. Silbaugh wrote.
In his court order Friday, Judge Bartlett asked Ms. Mallery and the NTSB to bring their experts to the January 29 conference. He also invited the defense attorney for the Prestige operator to attend.
Judge Bartlett wants the DA and NTSB to agree on access to the limo, but also wrote, “Absent an agreement being reached, the court will have to make the decision that will allow access to the people, the Defense, and the NTSB that will preserve the integrity of the evidence. . .”