Letter To The Editor – Extreme Misconduct

To the Editor:
Because of the continuing misconduct by New Lebanon government officials, I sent the following letter to Mr. Steigman in the New York State Attorney General’s Office on Friday, March 30.
“Dear Mr. Steigman,
I have been in contact with Ms. Darcy Poppey and others in New Lebanon who are concerned about the serious complaints we have filed with the A.G Office recently, as well as over the past few years.
We understand that perhaps our objections and issues seem small to you in comparison to things you deal with at the state level, but as I have said before, these issues are not small to US. In fact, the longer the local perpetrators of the extreme misconduct go unpunished, the more the misconduct escalates. They answer to NO ONE!
My most recent correspondence, sent directly to Mr. Schneiderman and signed for by his office on March 15, has not even been acknowledged. What was addressed in that letter is the most recent and most extreme example of Conflict of Interest we have seen to date, and it must be addressed and be addressed a.s.a.p., as it affects the fair and honest operation of our town government. As you must realize by now, we are not going away and will not allow the corruption and collusion among our local officials to continue unchecked.
I have personally met with Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, Congressman Chris Gibson, and our [Columbia] county D.A, Paul Czajka, and still, we wait. Over the past four years, the NYS Office of the Attorney General has received numerous complaints and pleas for assistance from the people of New Lebanon, and none of those complaints have been addressed, ever. We are now beginning to get impatient, and deservedly so! Our patience and understanding with the government red tape has been more than fair, and at this point, we deserve some attention from SOMEONE within your agency.
We have requested, repeatedly, that an investigator meet with us and focus on the issues, and we also know that one meeting will not be adequate. The contacts we have made with the A.G’s Office have resulted in our being shuffled from person to person, and what is required is ONE person who can be familiarized with the problems and link them all together, which will serve to show that the same perpetrators are involved in all the issues and have been for YEARS. Congressman Gibson promised us that he would arrange for an investigator to meet  and work with us. His assistant, Steve Bulger, did indeed contact your agency, twice, and Antoine Karam and I have since spoken over the phone. Still no action, no acknowledgement of the long standing issues we are dealing with here. I have to wonder if anyone within the A.G’s Office, talks to anyone else within their office! Has anyone opened a file for this town and gathered the numerous complaints together?
For a final time, we respectfully request an investigator from the NYS Attorney General’s Office to work with us and to carry out the promise of Ethical and Honest representation Mr. Schneiderman has made to the people of this state. The things we are dealing and suffering with on a daily basis in this town have gone way beyond reasonable and legal, and it is time for the state to stand up and say, “Enough.” WE have!
Regards,
JJ. Johnson-Smith
P.A.C.T”
Shaker Road, New Lebanon