GOSHEN – Residents in some Orange County municipalities have filed ethics complaints against their local officials and District Attorney David Hoovler is investigating them.
Most recently, complaints have reached his office dealing with the Village of South Blooming Grove and the towns of New Windsor and Mount Hope, the DA said.
“Basically, elected officials, town officials, planning board members, zoning board members, being involved in decisions involving their family members and others that benefit themselves when they are supposed to be there strictly for the town,” he said.
Hoovler said the general rule is officials cannot have any self-dealing or benefit themselves when they are in those positions unless they disclose publicly to the town that they are benefiting, including their family members.
Hoovler said municipal officials cannot use information not known to the public to benefit themselves. He has also seen an uptick in nepotism complaints in appointing officials to posts.
The DA said generally speaking, if an official makes a disclosure, it would not rise to the level of a misdemeanor.
