To the Editor:
How can this be??? The Stephentown Highway Superintendent of over 20 years was unjustly convicted and many inaccuracies have been stated. A man that has been elected to office twelve times has had his life turned upside down.
As the law permits and as commonly practiced for the past 20 years, the Town has been able to keep the sand and gravel budget low by excavating native product from building sites without a permit. For two years the Town mined aggregate for our roads from the Cormier property at $5 per yard versus $8 to $12 per yard from outside sources.
We had elected a man with the knowledge and experience to do this construction and enter into contracts that kept the Highway Department budget low and saved Stephentown thousands of dollars annually. A local complaint raised questions, the DEC was notified and the Attorney General’s office got involved. The charge was made that the Highway Superintendent was running a mining operation without a permit. His home was searched with much disruption and some precious things were destroyed by officials. Then, in a blatant political act, he was arrested the day before election in 2007.
Russ Freeman, the excavator, who was very ill, completed some load slips and put them into a sealed envelope and asked Neil to deliver them to the Town. He did this in response to a request from the Town Attorney.
The Attorney General’s office charged Russ Freeman and Neil Gardner with misdemeanors. Neil would not plead guilty to these misdemeanors. The Attorney General added 44 felony charges. Multiple times he was offered plea bargains, but he stated he was not guilty repeatedly. He went to trial and the judge charged him with 24 low level felonies. He was acquitted of the original misdemeanor of operating a mine without a permit.
Neil Gardner has since lost his job, has paid enormous legal fees and faces years of jail time. Court sentencing is December 4th. He had no intent to defraud anyone. He did not benefit personally in this. Is this our justice system?
Extremely Upset Resident,
Lorri Parisi
Chuckleberry Way, Stephentown