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“GolfClubGate” Discussed in Private Council Meeting

Rye City Council will meet behind closed doors Monday night to discuss "GolfClubGate":

"The City Council has called a Special Meeting for Monday, March 4, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Mayor’s Conference Room. It is expected that the Council will adjourn into Executive Session at 7:01 p.m. to discuss pending litigation regarding the Rye Golf Club and personnel matters."

The next regular meeting of the City Council will be held on Wednesday, March 6, 2012 beginning at 8:00pm.

  1. Every day I eagerly await the latest edition of The Journal News hoping to see Scott Yandrasevich has been arrested for his massive theft against the citizens of Rye. To date, I haven’t seen anything. His epic, unprecedented fraud against Rye has been proven, yet he has not been held accountable for his crime. Can anyone tell me why that is? Since when isn’t it a crime to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars? I can’t help but wonder since city manager Scott Pickup approved 70% of the $7.4 million dollars paid to these bogus claims, what was in it for him? Did he get a kickback for his lack of due diligence? Pickup should be investigated as well, another loser on the taxpayer payroll. What is with these Scotts?
    Aside from the police department, I trust no one in a position of authority in this town. Time for an uprising by the citizens of Rye against the arrogance and incompetence of the Doug French administration. His tenure should go down as the absolute worst in Rye’s history.

  2. Ever the contrarian, I have a question – where in the RGC report does it state which law(s) was broken? I’ve read that rates were raised to accomodate an increasing margin on top of the unchanging wages paid to the staff. There was also some questions about “Lisa” and whether she actually did work for the RGC. But I didn’t see anything that said that the billings were illegal. In fact, there’s a paragraph that indicates validation was performed of the number of hours billed versus the number of hours paid (OT, I think) to individual staff.

  3. “Rates were raised to accommodate an increasing margin.” Who benefitted from the increasing margin? RM Staffing! Beginning on page 7,the report clearly describes RM billing for higher rates than it paid employees. The difference (the increasing margin) appears to have gone to RM without RGC members benefitting from a competitive bidding process.

  4. The Associated Press – BREAKING: HUGO CHAVEZ, FIERY VENEZUELAN LEADER, DIES AT 58

    In other world news, Rye City Government credibility hangs by a thread.

    Expect new revelations from LD10580 late tonight or tomorrow AM.

  5. We’re not judge and jury…seeking to convict beyond a reasonable doubt at this point. It’s clear from the report, however (isn’t it?), that the RGC manager benefitted economically (stole?) from members by setting up a shell corporation that billed members more than services actually cost, capturing the “increasing margin” for himself (and perhaps others along the way). Can a crime be proven? The D.A. will decide. In the meantime, it’s reasonable for RGC members and City tax payers to ask tough questions of the City Manager (a confessed and consistent liar) about actions that led to this fleecing.

  6. Anne – that’s part of the interesting question. Who gets define what the services cost? If the number of hours are included in the invoice and the rate for each hour is included there AND the invoice is accepted by the City (via the Golf Club manager), then actual cost is what was billed. The difference between what was billed to the city and what the employees received is purely margin which is allowed to any business. We may not like the size of the margin, but is there a law against it?

    No, I think that if there’s a legal issue it has to do with a conflict of interest on the part of the manager of the club (Scott Y) and/or the potential that some of the people charged to the RGC actually did not work the hours reflected. But this last part is terribly tough to prove.

    So, can someone (Matt F?) identify what laws were broken?

  7. Bob, Anne,

    Scotty Y. is gone, Rye chose it to be this way, they have allowed this, Connors would arrest me for spitting but I guess what Scotty Y. did is legal in the eyes of the Commissioner?

    So, like I said, Scotty Y. is gone, Rye is past the point of being able to take action on this clown….but there is still Scotty P. lingering amongst us…..WHY is this and WHY NO ACTION TAKEN AGAINST SCOTTY P.???

    We will never get back to being Rye with this nonsense existing!!!

    When will someone or everyone grow a set, step to the plate and take a swing???

  8. Anne & Bob – tell me I’m wrong but the apparent father(s) of this no-bid, nothing in writing and no questions to be asked ever or you’re fired set up were – Steve Otis, Paul Shew and Kevin Plunkett. One need only look at who were the senior city decision makers in the scheme establishment time period. It was initially some say all about cutting Rye Golf’s labor costs by using a cut out “Services Corporation” to employ and exploit much cheaper illegal alien workers. Just look at the so called “billing invoices” with the single names on LD10580. Leon’s talked to a lot of them. But Scott Y – he over time became greedy (even sucking in their tips and overtime) and thus ultimately exposed the scheme because he mistook the club members (and all Rye Residents) for permanent SAPS.

    Unless Scotty Y gets a “deal” from the DA – which is definitely politically in the cards – he will very likely spill all he knows about Steve Otis, Kevin Plunkett, Paul Shew, Scott Pickup and probably other city employees and elected officials. That’s why – in a town of guidelines rather than laws – dead men tell no tales. This DA prosecution will likely focus of finding out what Scotty Y will be ready to say in open court and then it will “go away” into a plea bargain. Please also note the scope of Brune & Richard’s engagement was narrow enough that apparently no Plunkett or Otis depositions were even taken. WHY? It was hatched on their watch. And Mr. French likely knew a burning fuse when he smelled one. Time as they say will tell the tale. But not before the city and the county tries one last grand cover-up I’m afraid. It’s the only thing they know how to do when they get sun lighted. If only we could have cut this whole Rye secrecy and corruption thing off at the knees at Schubert’s Pond. You Rye Golf folks never needed to get screwed.

  9. TedC – Why would Scott Y need to spill any beans if he didn’t break the law? Why would the City’s insurance company pay any damages if there were no laws broken? Bob.

  10. And finally –

    Look them up or just see the documents and statutes on LD10580. Anyone with modest business experience could see these invoices looked strange and, after doing a little research, actually alarming. Scotty Y had lost that natural business perspective I think because of the rubber stamp that was always waiting for things, even really strange things, which he submitted to and got robo-approved and paid by Rye City Hall.

    On insurance recovery I have to question what kind of claim is viable when an IC (Internal Control) memo’s official findings are ignored by elected officials and senior management for multi year periods. And here they even had the audit partner make his key internal control concerns about the enterprise fund in question in public and on recorded municipal television. Nothing is done on a serious IC memo weakness by management and the insurance company is just going to pay? That must be SOME policy Bob. More likely it’s a city lawsuit against a rejected claim, litigation being Ms. Wilson’s favorite profit game.

    BTW – I’ve been now told that more inside city hall secrets are coming tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned.

  11. Sorry for the reply delay here Bob. TypePad doesn’t seem to like me anymore (just like some corrupt politicos I guess).

    The way I hear it – Scotty Y was confronted with a choice. A bombshell story was being dropping on LD10580. He could cooperate with it or not. He made a choice and handed over some RM Staffing invoices that he had. Scott Pickup (despite lawful FOILs for them) and despite being Scotty Y’s supervisor, would not hand over these very same, very public documents.

    Scotty Y didn’t think there was anything unknown in those invoices and he was right. They were old news at city hall. They were however big news to the public. They show wildly variant and frankly unbelievable hours of earned overtime, tip’s that were soon confirmed not to be received by the employees the members thought were getting them, and single name employees – in short, apparent multiple violations of Federal Law’s.

    continued –

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