by David Flint
Neil Gardner, Stephentown’s former Highway Superintendent, was sentenced on December 23 to serve five years probation after having been convicted of 24 felony counts of possession and filing of forged documents related to illegal gravel mining. Rensselaer County Court Judge Robert Jacon said at the sentencing that he had received “a lot” of letters from members of the community, mostly supportive of Neil Gardner. Having carefully considered all of these along with an extensive pre-sentencing report from the County Probation Department, he had decided to accept the recommendation of that office that Gardner be released on probation. Hearing this, the group of about 50 people attending in the court room began a brief bit of applause before they realized their breach of decorum. The group later gathered outside the court room and applauded more vigorously as Gardner made his exit.
Jacon denied two motions for dismissal filed by Thomas Spargo, Gardner’s attorney. Spargo contended that the guilty verdict on possession and filing of phony load slips was inconsistent with Jacon’s finding of not guilty on the charge of operating an illegal mine. In a second motion Spargo charged that the prosecution had failed to turn over exculpatory documents, namely memos from Craig Crist acting as counsel to the Town Board. The memos were to the Board, to Russ Freeman and to Gardner’s former attorney, Stephen Pechenik, and contained what Spargo said was evidence that, among other things, the Board knew where the allegedly illegal gravel was coming from. Jacon, however, found nothing inconsistent in Gardner being guilty of accepting and filing forged instruments yet not guilty of operating an illegal mine, and he cited previous court cases supporting his stance. Regarding the Crist memos, he accepted the prosecution’s statement that they never had possession of the documents, and he said Spargo could have subpoenaed them from the Town Board. In any case, he maintained that they pertained only to what the Town Board knew; they were not relevant to the crimes Gardner was found guilty of, and they would not have affected the verdict.
Certificate Of Relief In Abeyance
Gardner was ordered to pay a $320 surcharge, and Jacon said he would hold in abeyance a request for a certificate of relief from civil disabilities but would decide on that within six months. The certificate, according to the Probation Department, would relieve Gardner of any automatic forfeiture of any license, permit, employment or franchise and would remove any bar to employment such as with state or municipal government. A certificate does not permit the convicted person to retain or be eligible for public office, nor does it void the conviction as if it were a pardon.
Spargo said later that he thought Jacon had been fair and thoughtful in his deliberations and rulings, but he intended to appeal the verdict based on the two motions for dismissal he had presented.
Judge Jacon said the sad part of this whole episode was that “It didn’t have to happen.” If Gardner had just told the Town Board he didn’t have load slips because they just didn’t exist, Jacon surmised that the Board members “would have just sat around and said, ‘Yep, we know that.’” If Gardner had just told the truth, Jacon continued, “I suspect we wouldn’t be here today.”
Bad Attitude?
Jacon took some time to admonish both the defendant and other residents of the Town of Stephentown. He said he was concerned about the attitude of some people regarding the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and its rules and regulations. That Department, he said, was established by the legislature, “your elected representatives╔to protect all of us, to enhance the quality of our lives by controlling abuse of the environment╔as inconvenient as that may be at times.” Some people, he said, have chosen to ignore the rules and regulations and have paid the price. He acknowledged that DEC may have played a greater role in Stephentown than elsewhere but he advised that if people don’t like the rules, they should petition the legislature to change them.
Words Of Wisdom
Jacon said there were no winners here and he hoped that everyone in the community had learned some lessons. Instead of trying to drive a wedge in the community, he advised, people should just realize that mistakes were made and that now people need to get on with their lives. Gardner would pay a price, he said, but he asked people in the community not to complicate his life or their own lives. “It does nobody any good to hold a grudge,” he said. “People need to work together now as a community and continue to make Stephentown not only the only one in the world, but a great place to live. Don’t throw it away.”