By The HV News Lies Staff

On July 20, 2012 town resident Steve Costa filed a cross complaint in against the Hyde Park Town Board. In his cross complaint Mr. Costa alleges that the Town Board engaged in extortion and fraud in the demands that they allegedly made upon him in a meeting on January 3, 2012. Mr. Costa claims that Supervisor Aileen Rohr, 4th  
Ward Councilman Ken Schneider and Highway Supt. Walt Doyle demanded $75,000.00 from Mr. Costa and if he complied, the Town Board would award him the tree  
maintenance contract for 2012. Mr. Costa had been cleaning up the fallen trees and hanging branches about town after the freak Halloween snow storm of 2012.   
 
We believe that the present town board is a board that has provided no positive direction. This board has grossly abused its authority by settling alleged political scores with the previous administration. It is our belief that they have been guided down the path of corruption (extortion) by the recently recycled former bookkeeper Joann Lown and the failed former town supervisor Pompey Delafield. Word from town hall is the Lown is involved in every aspect of the daily operation of the town and that Rohr and Attorney Replansky do not make a move without her approval. By allowing these two to influence their actions, they now find themselves in a very difficult position where they are each being sued for $1,000,000.00 personally by Mr. Costa. They just might be required to hire an attorney to defend them in court. Should they lose, they stand to lose everything. Three face potential criminal charges with possible investigation by state and/or federal law enforcement agencies.

We do find the allegation of extortion to be most troubling. This is perhaps the first time that sitting  
board members in the Town of Hyde Park may be facing federal corruption charges. These individual may wish to consult with disgraced former state senator Vinny Liebell about this issue and get some pointers as to how to survive in prison. We don’t believe Senator Steveie “The Slickster” Saland will be writing a letter of an interceding nature for them. Perhaps he will mull over writing one for Walt Doyle since he was the most recent recipient of the Hyde Park Republican committee’s Angelo Canale  
Award
, formerly a prestigious ward. At the least, Stevie the Slickster could write letter of introduction to Vinny Liebell if they do in fact take up residency in the federal prison system. 

The Rohr administration is perhaps the most dysfunctional board in the history of the Town of Hyde Park. Three members stand accused of extortion and a fourth is an alleged crooked former cop who has an alcohol problem and most recently shot himself in the
arse while on a bender at the Crum Elbow gun club. This person should know that guns and alcohol do not mix. Neither does drinking and driving. Right, Bill.   

Where did these people come from? For starters, it has been long rumored that board members Truitt and Schneider were recruited to run as Democrats by former Republican Town Board member Sue Serino, because of her intense dislike for Republican Committee Chairperson Jean McArthur and her husband. Serino knew of the profound resentment that Schneider, like most Hyde Park residents, had for the McArthurs. The rest is history. Truitt has no credibility because of his past actions and Schneider and Rohr’s credibility quickly diminishing to nothing, all thanks to Lown and  
Delafield. 

We hope that there are seven resignations on the Town Clerks desk very soon. Warren Replansky, so-called  
attorney for the town should be the first to go so that the Town of Hyde Park  can once again resume a positive course without the dark cloud of alleged  
criminal activity looming over town hall.