SCHOHARIE – Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery hung up the phone on National Transportation Safety Board officials during a heated conference call last Friday while discussing the NTSB's fruitless attempts to inspect the limousine involved in the Oct. 6 crash that killed 20 poeple, court papers revealed.

It was the latest example of tension in the clash between the prosecutor and the federal agency, whose mission is to determine what caused the crash and to issue safety recommendations. The deadlock already prompted County Court Judge George R. Bartlett III to intervene, proposing on Jan. 9 that NTSB be added to the original search warrant that allowed State Police access to the limo.

Court papers, including email exchanges, reviewed by the Times Union showed the district attorney and NTSB General Counsel Kathleen Silbaugh at a stalemate before and after the conference call.

"As you alluded to in your letter, this is a highly unusual situation," Silbaugh told Bartlett in a letter on Monday. "The NTSB is routinely granted access to necessary evidence from an accident and has a long history of working cooperatively with state and local authorities to accomplish our parallel missions without judicial intervention."

Court papers show early Friday, Silbaugh suggested the phone conference between Mallery, NTSB officials and Lee Kindlon, the defense attorney for Nauman Hussain of Cohoes, the operator of Prestige Limousine, who is charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with the crash. Mallery's secretary, Carola Tripsas, informed them the district attorney was busy from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The conference call took place about 7 p.m. It included Mallery, an assistant district attorney and three NTSB officials including Silbaugh.

"This was the first available time for all parties to speak on Friday. From the NTSB's perspective, the call was disappointingly unproductive," Silbaugh told Bartlett in a letter on Monday.

She said Mallery "unexpectedly terminated the call."

Silbaugh wrote Bartlett: "In light of the continued impasse with District Attorney Mallery, the NTSB urges the court to intercede. We understand the court's reluctance to interject itself in this matter, however it is apparent that our interactions directly with District Attorney Mallery are not productive and are unlikely to resolve the impasse."

Silbaugh told the judge that Mallery began the conference call by asking Kindlon for his response to a proposed search warrant to remove and inspect the limo's transmission and torque converter.

According to Silbaugh, Mallery "stated her belief that the NTSB does not have standing in this matter" and had engaged in out-of-court communications with the judge. Silbaugh told the judge that Mallery appears to believe NTSB's access to the limo is dependent on the agency being included on a search warrant.

"She stated several times during the call that she has no opposition to including NTSB on the application for the supplemental search warrant, but that such inclusion would only permit us to be present when the vehicle is moved, and to inspect and take photographs 'under the supervision of the State Police,'" Silbaugh stated.

Silnbaugh said NTSB's work is not dependent on any State Police search warrant. She said Mallery requested dates when NTSB investigators and an expert for the defense could look at the vehicle. When NTSB told Mallery its investigators could start as soon as Friday, "District Attorney Mallery said that would not be possible," Silbaugh wrote.

She said she followed up with an email saying NTSB investigators were ready to proceed with their inspection protocol, which must happen before the limo's transmission and torque converter are removed. Once the limo was moved, Silbaugh added, the investigators would need to be actively involved in the inspection and removal of those areas.

"Mallery steadfastly refused to even discuss the NTSB's independent federal authority to inspect the vehicle or conduct our investigation," Silbaugh told the judge. "When we attempted to broach the topic during the call, she stated that she had 'not formulated (her) opinion' on NTSB access and was not prepared to respond on the call, but would do so 'at the appropriate time.' She refused to provide an estimate as to when she would respond, stating only that it had to be coordinated with her experts and the defense."

Silbaugh added: "Mallery unexpectedly terminated the call at that point."

Silbaugh asked that State Police and Mallery allow the NTSB to have "immediate and unfettered access" for the work it needs to do prior to any inspection or removal of the transmission and torque converter. She asked for access to parts already removed from the limo.

Mallery's office could not be reached for comment.

In a letter to the judge on Wednesday, Kindlon said: "After consultation with our experts, the defense is done with the exterior inspection of the vehicle and would consent to the vehicle being moved into a more permanent structure, as discussed by all parties. We would request that our experts be present for any future examinations by either the NTSB or the (prosecution's) investigators, and specifically for the removal of the vehicle's transmission and torque converter."

Steve Hughes contributed to this story.