Judge holds Town of Hempstead in contempt for withholding emails

A state judge found the Town of Hempstead in contempt for failing to release thousands of emails sought by a law firm after the town had entered into a court-approved agreement to provide them.

On Tuesday, state Supreme Court Judge Maureen McHugh Heitner ruled that the town’s failure to produce nearly 3,000 emails requested by the firm, after entering into a court-approved agreement to do so, demonstrated a “willful disobedience and resistance to, and failure to obey the lawful mandates of this court’s order.”

Hempstead signed a stipulation in June to provide the emails to Brooklyn-based Aron Law PLLC, which had sued to obtain them, but the town only produced 17 emails, according to court documents.

On Sept. 27, 2024, the law firm submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Law for emails containing the word “croce.” It did so with the intent of learning whether the town was issuing school bus camera violations despite a 2023 ruling, People vs. Croce, that reversed the conviction of a Suffolk County driver who had received a ticket based on evidence from a camera, according to the plaintiff’s complaint. Aron Law sued after the town denied the FOIL request on the grounds it was overbroad and voluminous.

“Until now their response to FOIL has been atrocious,” attorney Joseph Aron of Aron Law said in an interview Friday. “Historically that’s been our experience with the town; that we’re very unlikely to get our clients’ documents unless we have a lawsuit.”

The contempt ruling ordered the town to produce “over 2,850” emails without redactions or limitations within 60 days. The judge also ruled that Aron Law is entitled to legal fees and damages in an amount to be set at a Dec.1 hearing.

On Wednesday, Town Attorney John Maccarone, following an unrelated appearance at state Supreme Court in Mineola, said he was not aware of the contempt order.

On Friday, town spokesman Brian Devine said in an emailed statement that the lawsuit had begun under former Town Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr. and that Supervisor John Ferretti had ordered the town attorney’s office to release “all the emails produced as a result of this FOIL.”

Ferretti was appointed town supervisor on Aug. 5 and reappointed on Sept. 16.

It was unclear if Ferretti’s directive meant the town would comply with Heitner’s order to release more than 2,850 unredacted emails.

The town’s outside legal counsel, Donna A. Napolitano, of Garden City-based Berkman, Henoch, Peterson & Peddy PC, said in an Aug. 27 filing the town had already complied with the FOIL request. “Every email that is responsive and/or not subject to any lawful Public Officers Law exemption … have now been provided to Petitioner,” Napolitano wrote.

Heitner ruled that Aron Law was entitled to all the emails sought, not just those that had been provided already.

On Saturday, Devine said in an email that "the Town will work to comply with the Judge's order."

Aron said Friday he had not received any emails or communication from the town since the contempt order was issued.