McKinstry: Ramapo raid is a proud moment for the gadflies

Gadflies get a bad rap.

They're often looked upon as curmudgeons: the naysayers, loudmouths or know-nothings who revel in obstruction.

But in truth, they are trying to do a civic duty -- challenging authority and offering a dissenting voice, however intense, passionate or seemingly annoying.

Socrates is one of history's better-known pains-in-the neck: He said such flies are easy to swat away or ignore, but society does so at its own peril.

Federal investigators must know a thing or two about that philosophy; they aren't blowing off any of Ramapo's gadflies these days. Some of these civic-minded citizens have been screaming for more than a decade about land deals, education, town finances and the complicated bloc vote -- composed of the large Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish communities -- that tips the balance of power and plays a major role in local issues and elections. And these activists have been complaining to just about anyone who would hear them out -- governors, attorneys general, local leaders and the like.

For years, they reached out to the FBI and, as it turns out, the FBI was apparently listening.

"They validated what we've been doing for the last 10 years," Michael Castelluccio, a member of Preserve Ramapo, a coalition of concerned residents, and editor of its website, told me Thursday. "They didn't go in with three people and take out two boxes. They went in full force."

Roughly 40 modern-day G Men -- the FBI's evidence response team -- swarmed onto Ramapo Town Hall late Wednesday in search of information: They seized hard drives and records and eventually left before midnight with boxes upon boxes of documents, zip drives and lord knows what else.

And I'm willing to bet before investigators trekked across the Tappan Zee Bridge into Rockland's largest town, they had taken more than a passive interest in Preserve Ramapo's website, which is basically a clearing house of all things Ramapo.

The nature and extent of the investigation aren't precisely known - agents aren't showing their hand nor broadcasting what they're looking for -- but many town-watchers believe it has to do with development and finances, notably a $38 million minor league ballpark that is costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

According to Newsday.com, word is that agents passed on run-of-the-mill subpoenas and descended on Town Hall for fear that documents would somehow get destroyed before anyone saw them.

The raid, nonetheless, came as little surprise to many in this town.

"We knew it would happen," Peggy Hatton, a vocal critic of the town and the East Ramapo School District, which has its own share of serious problems.

"We just didn't know if we'd live to see the day. . . . There's nothing new in any of this. We've known about it for a long time. It's just about getting evidence to the right people."

No charges have been filed against any town officials and at this point much of the chatter behind this is speculation. So far, town officials appear to know one thing - and that's that they know nothing about what the FBI is looking for.

Allegedly.

Coincidently, or maybe not, the federal raid comes soon after the U.S. attorney charged two Spring Valley officials -- Mayor Noramie Jasmin and Deputy Mayor Joseph Desmaret -- with fraud. Leaders from Spring Valley, a village in Ramapo, are somehow snarled in a broader corruption probe involving state politicians and New York City party bosses.

Upon reading the recent news, an old college friend living in one of Ramapo's villages sent me a note that read: "It is about time!"

For many, this day couldn't come soon enough.

Gerald McKinstry is a member of the Newsday editorial board.