The City of Troy, New York, "Where Henry Hudson Turned Around."

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

UPDATE...

...on the murder of Bill Chamberlain. Sources close to The Troy Polloi have confirmed that the suspect in the Chamberlain slaying, Joseph Vandenburgh, did not work for the City of Troy and had never applied for employment with the city.

Initially, there was some confusion about Vandenburgh's past employment or would-be employment. The confusion likely arose because a different Vandenburgh has applied for a position with the City in recent years. Vandenburgh has not yet been charged in connection with Chamberlain's death.

ELECTION FRAUD REVISITED

Rensselaer County Democratic Election Commissioner Ed McDonough has pulled the trigger on an $8,000,000 lawsuit in connection with his 2012 acquittal for forging absentee ballots. McDonough's first trial ended in a hung jury.

McDonough's attorney, Brian Premo, filed a Notice of Claim shortly after the acquittal. There had been a copy of the Notice of Claim floating around someplace. Perhaps Franco had a copy on his old Tale Spin blog. All we recall about the Notice of Claim is that it was long, rambling and so chaotic it almost gave us a seizure.*We hope, for Ed's sake, Brian has drafted a more coherent complaint.

Although couched as a civil rights suit, this is, at its core, a malicious prosecution claim. McDonough will face an uphill battle on this one. The Grand Jury's indictment is prima facie evidence of probable cause. Further, prior to trial one would think his attorney served an omnibus motion which also sought dismissal for lack of probable cause. That was obviously denied.

McDonough has also opened himself up to being deposed by a number of defense attorneys. While he was acquitted and cannot be tried again for the same crime, no one ever looks after being questioned by a room full of defense attorneys being paid by the hour.

Release the hounds!

* It may have been written in crayon

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go for it Ed. You were innocent and had your name dragged through the mud with the guilty.

Anonymous said...

Why won't the TU write about the police serving a search warrant in the District Attorney's office on an ADA Friday? Isn't seizing property from the DA's office with a search warrant regarding the stolen Gordon 911 tape and an ADA getting immediately terminated afterward newsworthy?

Anonymous said...

Per Troy Record today, Rodney Wiltshire and Ken Zalewski are the most shameless and clueless people ever to breath.

Anonymous said...

8:13 is spot on with opinion of two ego driven phonies Wiltshire and Zalewski. "Any occasion to read my name in print" is the mantra.
The Record reporter should find relliable sources for comment rather than the "usual suspects" craving recognition ( Dworsky, CB Smith, Wiltshire, Zalewski, Gordon, LaPosta, Mantello )

Phana24JG said...

8:53 makes a point, but since Wiltshire, Zalewski, and Gordon are sitting councilmen, they are somewhat legit. However, there is a time to STFU, and now is one of those times. Unless the story is about MAC, why Dworsky gets so much coverage baffles me. CB would have been dangerous if he had that third digit for his IQ. If someone is going to mention LaPosta, they should at least reference which party he belongs to now, and if that will change in 2016.

Anonymous said...

Zalewski and Wiltshire have no class, character, or shame. Thank God for all of us they're fast on their way to Nobodyville.

Anonymous said...

What I am hearing about why Hug was let go is absurd....having to do with someones ego.

Anonymous said...

Franco linked Hug to the 911 tape based on timing. He likes to hint around like that without any evidence. Good reporting.

Anonymous said...

Not if its all a fantasy in your warped GOP mind. Gordon lost the election. He would have lost even if his wife didn't call the cops on him. He's finished in Troy. Get over it.

Anonymous said...

No one left in DA's office that can try cases....have you seen Joel or his first in charge personally handle any big cases? Nope. Citizens and crime victims of Rensco deserve better!!

Anonymous said...

I vote with the WFP fucktard and I saw it happen.
Turtle head and fatty were right there.
Denying the 911 tape release investigation won't save anyone from what's coming.

Anonymous said...

Jessica Hall is a well regarded experienced prosecutor.

Anonymous said...

8:13 is right on the money, Bill thought they were both ridiculous. How to not have any self awareness fellas. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

Anonymous said...

He wasn't the only one. Good riddance.

Anonymous said...

Fight the good fight Ed! From a pal and fellow victim of circumstance....you know who.

Anonymous said...

Cb Smith is far from dumb. If anything, he's too smart for his own good. He could have gone far in public service if he just had someone who could A. Control him and B. Steer him
...Lemuel Phibes

Anonymous said...

Nice article in the Record today about Bill but did they have to mention the monster in it?

Anonymous said...

Vespasian here. This has nothing to do with today's post, but I find this article that lists the largest employer for each state fascinating: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/03/19/the-largest-employer-in-each-state-2/

By and large, the answer is Wal*Mart. When it is not, it is a state University System (yes, SUNY in NY is the state's largest employer). When it is neither of these, it is usually a health system (Fletcher Allen / University of Vermont Health in Vermont). There are a few outliers - Boeing in Washington, for example.

Ford? Apple? Microsoft? JPMorgan? Google? Intel? Wells Fargo? GE? GM? Disney?

Nope. Just Wal*Mart, universities and hospitals.

Of course, this list is on a state by state basis - not a list of the largest employers nationally. Nonetheless, it demonstrates the dominance of Wal*Mart in retail (no other retailer shows up, and Wal*Mart dominates the list), and the importance of universities and health systems to our economy.

Interesting stuff.

Happy holidays, everyone. As a pagan, I will be taking advantage of everyone's slothfulness over the next few days and mounting a few raids on Albany. Anyone want to join me?

Vespasian

Anonymous said...

What's all this about Hug and the police and the 911 tape? Anything to it or is it all typical Troy bullshit?

Anonymous said...

The Hug firing one week before Christmas is the classless District Attorney's way of expressing payback for Hug supporting his opponent. He saved the impact and hurt for Christmas time. Hug was entrusted with the most difficult trials in the DA's office, presumably due to his reputation as a top notch prosecutor.
I hope he comes back to run against Abelove, the political puppet. We deserve a competent professional in that job.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:47 why did the state police confiscate his phone?

Anonymous said...

If the termination of Mr. Hug by the DA was simply payback for Mr. Hug supporting the DA's opponent, then why a search warrant?
Search warrants have to be signed by a judge and are based on probable cause.
Why was Mr. Hug's phone allegedly confiscated by the state police, acting independent of the DA ?
What was the warrant for and why was it served ?
These questions need to be answered to really understand what happened. Does anyone have the real answers ?

Dreamer said...

"A voter cannot allege a forgery if he signs a blank absentee ballot application that is later completed falsely any more than he could if he signs one that already contains false information," Premo wrote in the lawsuit. "In either case, once the absentee ballot application is signed by the voter (or ostensible voter) the person who entered false information on it has 'completed falsely' that document, but did not commit a forgery."
So now he did do it but it's a mulligan?

Phana24JG said...

Lem, do not confuse informed with intelligent. I give CB all the credit in the world for hard work and tenacity. However, once you get into anything remotely complicated, watch CB either disappear or resort to mantras and political psychobabble.

Vespasian, excellent observation. A combination of technology, mobility of capital(econ definition, not acctg), inane regulations, perverse tax policy, and lunatic energy policies have dramatically reduced the moderate-to-highly paid semi-skilled manufacturing jobs, as well as many service jobs that supported them. If only Mr. Trump had chosen this topic to bring some candor and coverage along with his somewhat outrageous BS that seem to accompany his useful observations, we might have had an opportunity to have a reasonable discussion on the most important issue we are facing. This discussion would almost require another blog unto itself.

Finally, very curious decision to fire Hug. My reaction is that a DA will ultimately be judged by the high-visibility cases that are won or lost, and the general media coverage of the DA's office(see DeAngeles, Trish). Mr. Abelove should be allowed to sink or swim with the people of his choosing. For our sake, I hope he has chosen wisely.

Anonymous said...

No, again, having dealt with C B.for wat too long now, I can tell you that he IS indeed intelligent...very intelligent, but with judgment skills sonewhat lacking and poor impulse control. He actually came off very well on the news the past few days after the unpleasantness. Thanks for listening....Phibes

Anonymous said...

CB Smith, Rodney, Ken Z. all cut from the same cloth. They're missing a specific quality, class. Can't teach it or explain it to people of their ilk.

Anonymous said...

I would offer the same description of Harry Two Ton Jerk and his cabal.
..... Calvin Spaulding

Phana24JG said...

Phibs, we agree to disagree. Just for fun, next time he is annoying you, turn up the vocabulary(preferably some economics or engineering jargon), and drop a few Latin phrases(sine qua non, tabula rasa, and ceterus paribus) used to work wonders, and watch the blank look and stammering begin. Just a couple of such encounters usually send him in pursuit of other people to harangue. Hope your enjoy the Christmas season, and have a very good 2016.

Anonymous said...

Comment about CB Smith acting reserved on TV recently following murder of a neighbor who never considered CB to be a friend.
Notice how CB hovered over news cameras to get the only on site interview from the n'hood. His appearance was not about sorrow for the victim or his family, it was about CB's compulsion for publicity.
Leopard never change their spots.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Glad someone's paying attention.

Anonymous said...

The DA will also be judged by the cases he refused to prosecute because they involved his Republican friends, i.e. Crist and Martin Reid. When the Attorney General has to step in and take over fraud cases from a county DA, that tells you we have a very serious problem.

Anonymous said...

So true. We've seen stories about Gary Gordon and now Shane Hug. Exactly what are they being accused of? There's a difference between being a link in an investigation and the target.

Phana24JG said...

9:45, you have a point. However, one or two good prosecutions of major cases will leave those cases as distant memories. Lose a couple of big ones, and they will return as part of a "timeline" of incompetence. I can understand passing on Crist, but why he did not at least refer Reid's case to another jurisdiction was very surprising.

Anonymous said...

CB didn't seek the cameras afyer that awful event. The media folks sought him out. He said there was a line of reporters outside his door as they knew him from past experiences and wanted quotes. I still stand by my earlier comment that he was reserved, he wasn't shrill or bombastic, just stated his case. Enjoy the holidays... Phibes.

Anonymous said...

ATTN: 3:22 PM Well known factamong anyone who has dealt with CB Xmith:
HE LIES. He has no moral compass when it comes to advancing himself or his latest obsession. Lying comes naturally to him.

Anonymous said...

We still disagree on this particular incident bit I still wish you happy holidays.....Lemuel