Michael D'Onofrio

mcdonofrio@lohud.com

RAMAPO - Calls for embattled Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence to resign are only getting louder.

A rowdy crowd of protesters jeered the supervisor and board members during a meeting Wednesday, where the board voted on disciplinary charges for fire inspector Adam Peltz for failing to adequately enforce fire-safety and zoning codes.

Brian Walsh, of Suffern, said as he stood among dozens of protesters who were holding signs that he believed the charges against St. Lawrence marked the “beginning of the end” of his tenure as supervisor.

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“I’m disgusted with the corruption in this town,” Walsh said. “He’s done here whether he wants to admit it or not.”

The fiery crowd of more than 120 people erupted in shouts as St. Lawrence and board appeared at the start of the meeting.

But St. Lawrence supporters were also well represented.

David Romer, of Monsey, was among more than 24 people who clapped and shouted, “Four more years!” and “They all got to stay!” during the meeting in response to the protesters. Romer said he backed the supervisor and board because they supported many interests of the large Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. He added that protesters were unfairly targeting the supervisor.

“I’m supporting everyone,” he said about St. Lawrence and the board. “If anyone stands up and helps the Jewish people a little bit, they are (seen as) an enemy" by some in the community, Romer said.

The meeting was a microcosm of the deep divide among residents, said Veronica DeMeo Boesch, the former mayor of Airmont. Boesch said she believed St. Lawrence’s own ambitions created the schism in Ramapo, and it was because he has relied too heavily on a single block of voters to keep him in office.

“Supervisor, this is your legacy,” Boesch said.

“You have created it because of your political ambitions,” she continued. “You wanted to rely on a large block of voters who would always vote for you and keep you in office as long as you were legally able to remain in office, and this has caused the creation of … the them versus us in this town.”

St. Lawrence, the supervisor since 2000, faces 22 charges federal securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy related to the selling of $150 million in municipal bonds based on fabricated financial documents related to the development of the town's controversial baseball stadium.

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The supervisor was charged alongside Aaron Troodler, the former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation. Both men pleaded not guilty.

St. Lawrence, Troodler, and two other Rockland County officials also face related civil charges brought by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

Multiple police officers were stationed at the meeting, and frequently had to temper supporters for and against the supervisor who at times directed their anger at one another.

The board, which was constantly interrupted by protesters, voted on disciplinary charges against Peltz.

Peltz, a longtime town employee who also serves as a volunteer member of the Monsey Fire Department and its president, has been prohibited from doing inspections and been placed on desk duty since April as the town conducted an investigation into his work.

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The examination into Peltz's inspections stemmed from letters sent in March by the New York State Education Department's Office of Facilities Planning to the town sharply criticizing Peltz' inspections of four private schools. The cited schools were the Rockland Institute for Special Education, Bais Yaakov, the Green Meadow Waldorf School, and Bais Yehuda.

In a settlement with the town, Peltz, 46, admitted that the inspections he conducted were inadequate and failed to identify violations at those four private school.

Peltz was demoted in grade and pay to assistant fire safety inspector, and suspended immediately without pay for 30 days, with the potential for 30 additional days. In addition, Peltz will be prohibited from using a town-owned car for personal use or taking the vehicle home; he will have to get the permission of Chief Building Inspector Anthony Mallia to respond to fires as an inspector after his work day ends; and he will be required to complete job training.

Peltz, a Civil Service Employee Association union member, has been a town employee for 17 years who has not faced any disciplinary proceedings in the past.

While Peltz was barred from doing inspections, the town hired former Fire Inspector Thomas Buckley as a consultant on inspection issues.

Following those allegations made against Peltz, the state Division of Building Standards and Codes in April ordered Ramapo to strengthen the enforcement of its fire prevention and building codes. The state cited the town for failing to ensure work is done with proper building permits, and criticized the town for not meeting minimum standards for record keeping.