Newburgh cop retires, withdraws disability claim

NEWBURGH – Police Lt. Peter
Leach, who was out of work on disability for over a year, has resigned
from the Newburgh Police Department and withdrawn his disability claim.
A source told MidHudsonNews.com the resignation and an agreement to withdraw
his claim came down within the last week.
Leach’s case created a firestorm at City Hall prompting City Manager Michael Ciaravino to launch a probe. That resulted in the Orange County District Attorney subpoenaing all documents pertaining to the case.  That probe is expected to continue to determine if any wrongdoing was committed by any city official, elected or appointed.
Mayor Judy Kennedy said on Tuesday the city will comply with the subpoena.
“I support transparency in city government,” the mayor said in a statement. “The city will comply with all requests from the District Attorney’s office for information pertaining to disability claims and disability hearings.”
Kennedy said she is glad a city-wide vote passed a referendum four years ago that requires a super majority of the city council for the hiring and firing of the city manager.
“This city charter change prevents the instability at City Hall that has happened over the years when disagreements break out between the city manager and certain members of the council.”