MINUTES
Town of Greenburgh Board of Ethics
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Greenburgh Town Hall

Board Members Present: Blasé J. Spinozzi Chairperson; Timothy Hays, Trudy Holand, and
Claire Pizzuti
Present: Nosh Mermacaj, Jacqueline Baranov and Maxine Susseles,
Also present: Town Attorney Timothy Lewis, Esq., Deputy Town Attorney Michael Pflaum, Esq.

1. Meeting was convened at 6:37 p.m. A quorum of the Board of Ethics was present.

2. Mr. Spinozzi welcomed Nosh Mermacaj, Jacqueline Baranov and Maxine Susseles, who
have been referred to the BOE by the Town Board as possible members of the BOE.

3. Mr. Spinozzi took a moment to recognize the passing of the Honorable Thomas Facelle
retired Justice of the Supreme Court of NY and a former Chair of the Greenburgh Board
of Ethics.

4. The Agenda was unanimously adopted.

5. The Minutes of the July 22, 2021, meeting were unanimously adopted. The Chair
thanked Mr. Hays for filling in for Ms. Holand and prepared the minutes.

6. The report on the status of ethics training was tabled until the next meeting due to Mr.
Fried being unable to attend the meeting.

7. The Chair advised that the Town Board has interviewed prospective new members for the
BOE and it is hoped that appointments will be made before the next meeting of the BOE.

8. The Chair advised that after a public hearing the Town Board has adopted Board of
Ethics’ proposed changes to section 570-8 of the COE.

9. The Chair announced that the names of two individuals had their names posted on the
Town website for failing to submit their financial disclosure forms. Those individuals are
Housing- James Robinson and Library- Jimmy Arrias. Mr. Lewis informed the Board that
Mr. Robinson advised him that he will be filing his form shortly. Mr. Spinozzi
commented on the fact that with the new amendment to the code we hope to have full
compliance much sooner than September and the BOE is considering further
recommendations to the Town Board regarding penalties for failure to file an FDF.2

10. Correspondence: The Chair acknowledged receipt of approximately eight lengthy emails
from Mr. Hal Samis. All members of the BOE had an opportunity to read the emails in
advance of the meeting. Mr. Spinozzi took issue with Mr. Samis’ personal attacks on
members of the Town Board, The BOE and the Town Attorney’s office. Mr. Spinozzi
asked if any other board members wished to be heard. At this time Mr. Samis began to
speak when he was not recognized by the Chair. The Chair found Mr. Samis to be out of
order. Mr. Samis would not agree to remain silent for the rest of the meeting. The Chair
asked for a vote by the Board on whether Mr. Samis should be removed from the meeting
and the BOE unanimously voted for his removal. The Chair recessed the meeting until
assistance could be obtained for the removal of Mr. Samis. Mr. Samis was escorted out of
the meeting and the meeting was reconvened.

11. Correspondence from R. Rappaport was also received regarding the response to his FOIL
request and redactions that were made by the Town Attorney. The Board relied on its
previous decision in the Matter of Samis vs. Fried.

12. Voting on any matter postponed by BOE: None.

13. Schedule Next Meeting
Next meeting will be on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m.
Submitted by:
Trudy Holand, Secretary