EX-DPW employee alleges racism
Gotti accused of threats, use of slurs, drinking and fighting while on the job
Mechanicville In a letter to the City Council, a former municipal employee has accused Mechanicville’s elected Commissioner of Public Works Anthony Gotti of a host of misdeeds, including using the N-word at work, making homophobic statements, drinking and fighting on the job — as well as having workers allegedly provide asphalt to cover the driveway of the mayor’s secretary.
In the letter provided to the City Council and city Attorney Lyn Murphy, William Mahoney, who was fired on July 29, said he felt “compelled to shed some light on the wrongdoings” now because he was too afraid to speak up previously for fear of losing his job.
In the two-page letter dated Aug. 10, Mahoney levied a long list of allegations against his former su
pervisor, including speaking “negatively about Black people and (using ) the N word often,” denigrating gay people and shaming overweight workers, and harassing and threatening co-workers.
He accuses Gotti, who is also a member of the City Council, of throwing things when he gets into “yelling matches” with employees, allowing some employees to skip using the time clock, and allowing one employee to continue working after the worker allegedly failed four drug tests.
Gotti, when reached on Tuesday, said he was “not going to acknowledge any of this kind of nonsense.”
Mechanicville, like Saratoga Springs, has a commissioner form of government. That makes Gotti an elected official who also oversees a department — in this case, the Department of Public Works. His term, which pays $50,000 a year according to the website Seethroughny, runs through 2021.
“Any questions I answer from this point on, I’m going to have my attorney answer,” said Gotti, whose attorney is John Aspland. “(Aspland) is already involved in other things. I have to be careful how that comes out. … I’m not going to dignify the allegations.”
City Attorney Murphy said she was aware of the letter but declined to comment. Aspland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mayor Dennis Baker said officials are “looking into it.”
At the city ’s Aug. 12 meeting, Mahoney attended and asked city officials if anything was being done. The mayor responded that the matter would be discussed in executive session. Mahoney, in a second letter to the city on Aug. 23, said he feared the city was not taking his allegations seriously.
“I would like to see a written response on how you will be addressing the misconduct and a timeline,” Mahoney wrote. “I have yet to be questioned nor have the employees of the DPW. This gives the impression that this is not being taken seriously. ... I feel that this is falling to the wayside.”
On Wednesday, Mahoney said he had a recent 15-minute discussion about his allegations with Murphy, who is also an attorney for the town of Halfmoon. He said he was told at that time that other DPW employees would be interviewed.
“Everything in the letter is true,” Mahoney said. “Something needs to be done.”
In recent years, Mechanicville has been plagued by city leaders accusing each other of wrongdoing.
Last year, Gotti accused then-commissioner of Accounts Kimberly Dunn of filing an $86,000 insurance claim for flooding in the Senior Center, which he said could have easily been fixed by his department. Dunn was also accused by former city Attorney Val Serbalik of not fulfilling a Freedom of Information Law request. She, in turn, blamed his poor counsel. Serbalik took the city to court and won.
In 2018, the city ’s police department filed a complaint against the mayor, accusing him of “name calling, barging in on crime scenes, demanding issuance of more tickets and threatening to shut down the entire department.” The mayor and the department settled their differences by signing an agreement in which the mayor promised to not interrupt day-to-day operations by giving direction to individual officers.
As part of the current allegations, Mahoney says Gotti — the only Democrat on the City Council — gave city asphalt to the mayor’s secretary, Gina Kenyon, for her driveway on Warsaw Avenue last spring. Kenyon on Tuesday would not confirm or deny the allegation, noting there is “an investigation being done.”
James Eacker, whose home backs up to Kenyon’s two Warsaw Avenue properties, said he saw city workers paving the road and noticed a wheelbarrow of asphalt being carried to Kenyon’s properties where her driveways were patched in areas near her back patio. He said he has photos that he shared with the city attorney, who interviewed Eacker on Sept. 11 about the incident.
On Wednesday, Eacker said he brought up the issue with city officials because “there are principles involved.”
Commissioner of Accounts Mark Seber, who serves on the council with Gotti, declined to comment on the matter. Commissioner of Public Safety Barbara Mcguire, who is also a City Council member, and Deputy Commissioner of Finance Amanda Proper, who is heading the finance department while the commissioner’s seat is vacant, could not be reached for comment.
Mahoney explained in his letter that he was fired for tardiness, but said when he started at the DPW on March 16 he was told “coming in around 7:05-7:10 having coffee, then getting to work was perfectly acceptable.”
“I did not think anything of it since this seemed to be the norm for Gotti and my co-workers,” he wrote.
When he was notified about his firing, Mahoney said he had a three-hour meeting with Gotti in which he was told that the commissioner “just wanted to fire me before I was protected by the union.”
Mahoney also alleges that Gotti keeps a flask of cognac at the Mechanicville Reservoir that he wanted Mahoney to enjoy. Mahoney said he rejected the offer but Gotti insisted, so he took the flask and poured it out after Gotti left.
He alleges Gotti also offered to get him some steroids from “his guy” and that the commissioner, whom he alleges keeps a handgun and ammunition in his personal vehicle, brought his gun into the city garage.
“I never spoke up because Gotti made a habit of threatening the employees, stating that he is free to do as he pleases as he has already beaten lawsuits,” Mahoney wrote. “I am just an average guy that needs my employment for the stability of my family and household, so I chose to keep my head down and stay quiet.”