November 29, 2015
For about a year now, North Hornell Village Trustee Frank Libordi’s case to have Hornellsville Town Supervisor Ken Isaman removed from office, has been in and out of the news. The latest is that Libordi’s case has been dismissed by the State Appeals Court in Rochester. It was originally heard by Steuben County Judge Marianne Furfure in February of this year. The case was in State Appeals Court last month in Rochester and has been dismissed by Judge Samuel Green. “It’s time for the Town of Hornellsville to get back to work running government, not chasing multiple frivolous lawsuits by Fran Libordi and Mr. Stephens,” Isaman told WLEA News. “These legal actions are paid for by all Hornellsville taxpayers, whether you’re a resident of North Hornell, resident of Arkport or a resident of the rest of the Town. They all pay a portion of these legal fees, and they’re in the thousands (of dollars). It’s time for this to end. Let’s go forward.”
Frank Libordi issued the following statement:
The fact that Judge Furfure agreed that our “amended petition set forth sufficient allegations regarding Isaman’s actions as Town Supervisor to continue this proceeding against him” was not recognized by the Appellate Court is perplexing. The Appellate Court rejected our amended petitions which included factual evidence of submitting falsified documents then claimed no evidence. The Supreme Court accepted our amended petitions as factual, acted upon them, and suggested further action. The Appellate Court rejected them and claimed no “triable issue”. It’s a tale of two courts.
Mr. Isaman acknowledged that he made a “mistake” when he nominated and appointed his wife thereby enriching himself by approximately $57,000 over a 10 year period. The court accepted in his acknowledgement that he should have abstained from that self-enriching act but that it did not warrant removal.
Still, we are please that on 26 August 2014 Mr. Isaman was forced to resign from the position of County Risk Manager thereby saving the Town and County taxpayers to date approximately $87,500. It was a position to which he should not have been and appointed and it was his appointment that generated the litigation and resignation.
Mr. Isaman should return the $300,000 to Steuben County that he was not eligible to earn.
