Whether or not Bob LaPietra is a resident of the Village of Cobleskill remains the big question, even after a daylong hearing in state Supreme Court Monday.
The dispute is expected back in court Tuesday; Supreme Court Justice John Egan Jr. said he’ll make his decision in a written ruling after that.
Among those called to testify Monday as Village Attorney Meredith Savitt sought to prove Mr. LaPietra doesn’t live in the village and can’t serve as village trustee—a position he was sworn in for on December 1--were Deputy Mayor Sandy MacKay, Codes Officer Mike Piccolo, and Clerk Sheila Hay-Gillespie.
Mr. LaPietra now lists his address as the Colonial Court Motel at 103 East Main Street.
Prior to that he listed his address as a 784 East Main Street building owned by his son, but in September Mr. LaPietra and other tenants were evicted from those apartments because they violated village zoning code.
Mr. LaPietra has also said he lives in Morris, an address he used in a December 4 Freedom of Information request for village documents.
Municipal and election law doesn’t agree on residency requirements; the village has asked Judge Egan to rule whether Mr. LaPietra can serve.
Even before arguments got underway, however, James Long, attorney for Mr. LaPietra, claimed the Supreme Court doesn’t have jurisdiction in a case like this once the election has taken place.
“Only the Attorney General has the jurisdiction to set aside an election,” Mr. Long said.
Judge Egan answered that he’ll take that issue into account when he issues his written decision.
Regarding whether Mr. LaPietra is a village resident, he added, “That’s the main decision to be made by the court. It’s a legal decision.”
Mr. MacKay took the stand for more than an hour as Ms. Savitt sought to establish where Mr. LaPietra lives.
At one point, Ms. Savitt asked him to identify—and then open—an invitation to the Schoharie County Village Offficers’ Association’s Christmas party—mailed November 18 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert LaPietra at the 784 East Main Street address and returned by the post office as undeliverable.
Ms. Hay-Gillespie later testified she was told by Board of Elections that that was Mr. LaPietra’s voting address.
On cross-examination from Mr. Long, she testified that she was aware the apartment had been ruled illegal and ordered vacant.
Ms. Hay-Gillespie also testified that Mr. LaPietra had provided a Morris post office box in his December 4 request for village documents.
Taking the stand shortly after noon, Mr. Piccolo ran through the series of events that led to Mr. LaPietra’s eviction from 784 East Main.
“It began on a Sunday morning…I was having coffee and got a phone call…” from someone at Taco Bell or Arby’s who had watched as workmen uncovered windows on the building.
No permits for apartments there had ever been issued, Mr. Piccolo said, and it had never been code-compliant; it took more than a year to evict tenants.
When asked by Ms. Savitt whether Mr. LaPietra ever lived at 784 East Main, Mr. Piccolo answered, “Not to my knowledge.”
The hearing was adjourned for an hour after Ms. Savitt surprised Daily Gazette reporter RJ Kelly, who was covering the session, by calling him as a witness.
Mr. Kelly asked for time to contact his attorney.
Judge Egan agreed to the delay.
“This raises a legitimate issue…Calling a member of the media does raise some Constitutional issues.”
Schoharie County Attorney Mike West, in court to represent the Board of Elections, asked to be excused from the afternoon session.
“Basically, we’ve spent the last hour and a half verifying [Mr. LaPietra’s] address as 784 East Main Street,” he said.
Judge Egan, however, suggested Mr. West might be needed after the break.