NEWBURGH – There appears
to be a rift between some members of the Newburgh City Council and City
Manager Michael Ciaravino over the functions of the executive and legislative
branches of government.
The controversy stems from hearings that were conducted pertaining to
former Police Lt. Peter Leach. He was out of work on disability following
an on-duty auto accident, but hearings were scheduled and begun on the
issue of whether he could return to work in a light duty capacity.
In the meantime, Leach had applied to the state for permanent disability
retirement.
City Manager Michael Ciaravino received a number of emails from Councilman
Cedric Brown ordering him to stop the hearings, which the manager would
not do, maintaining that would be his decision as appointed chief executive
officer of the city.
Copies of the email exchange were obtained by MidHudsonNews.com.
Brown emailed Ciaravino instructing him to cancel the hearings and when
the manager refused, Brown sent him a letter dated August 19 ordering
him “to discontinue all disciplinary action against” Leach
until the matter would be discussed at a September 3 workshop session.
The letter was signed by Brown and fellow Council Members Gay Lee, Cindy
Holmes and Regina Angelo.
In the meantime, Leach has resigned from the police department and ended
his disability retirement application.
