Dec. 3 – Niagara County lawmakers will privately receive an update this week on the recent decision to place two public defenders on paid administrative leave.
Chris Robins, Niagara Falls lawmaker and Democratic Minority Leader, said he expects to receive more information about the forced leave for public defenders Nicholas Robinson and Vince Sandonato during today’s legislative session in Lockport. He said he has been told the update will take place behind closed doors during the board meeting.
Government officials may meet privately at board meetings under limited exceptions under New York State Open Meetings laws. One of these exemptions concerns matters relating to the employment or conduct of public servants.
Robins said members of the Legislature’s Community Safety Committee received a brief update on the situation from County Manager Richard Updegrove last week.
Robins asked for a more detailed update because he wants to know how the staffing changes could affect services provided by the Public Prosecution Service, which provides legal advice to residents accused of crimes and who are unable to find their own pay a private lawyer.
“I want to make sure they get the best representation,” Robins said. “There are a lot of people from Niagara Falls who unfortunately have to use the public defender’s office.”
Robinson, a North Tonawanda city attorney who serves as the county’s top public defender, and Sandonato, the former chairman of the Falls Republican Committee and Robinson’s second-in-command, were both placed on administrative leave last week.
County Public Information Officer Kevin Schuler declined to reveal any reason behind the personnel moves, saying only that the county cannot comment on the situation because it concerns personnel matters.
Last year, Robinson and Sandonato were involved in an investigation by the personnel department into the operation of the provincial Public Prosecution Service. The review was prompted by concerns expressed in an anonymous letter to provincial officials and local media, including the Niagara Gazette and the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. The Human Resources Department determined that the letter’s allegations about the public defender consuming alcohol while on duty and conducting private legal and political business on county time were largely unfounded.
The newspaper has learned that the office’s current review stems from a more recent complaint signed by a yet-to-be-identified individual. The nature of the complaints referenced in the letter has not been disclosed.
County officials confirmed Monday that the county had retained a private law firm, Bond, Schoeneck and King of Erie County, to conduct what Schuler described as an “independent, external review outside of county government” of the public defender’s office . Schuler confirmed that the law firm’s review is ongoing.
While the external review plays out, Schuler said the office is temporarily under the supervision of Assistant Attorney General David Blackley.
