NYS worker faced demotion for talking to press, retired instead

LAKE PLACID -- A 30-year state Department of Transportation employee said he was forced to retire rather than possibly be fired for speaking to a newspaper reporter without approval from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration.

Mike Fayette told the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that he was threatened with termination for talking to the newspaper for a story in which he praised the DOT's handling of the remnants of Hurricane Irene.

William Duffy, DOT's $95,000-a-year director of public information, declined to comment yesterday.

Fayette, Essex County's resident engineer since 2005, spoke to the paper for an article published Aug. 30 to mark one year since the storm badly damaged roads in Essex County. The reporter said he twice sought approval to interview Fayette from DOT spokeswoman Carol Breen but never heard from her. A DOT administrative assistant said yesterday Breen couldn't talk about the case and referred questions to Duffy.

As resident engineer, Fayette oversaw road and bridge projects and DOT maintenance personnel.

Cuomo's administration has earned a reputation for controlling information and access to departmental public information officers. Fayette said he agreed to talk to the newspaper for the Irene story because of some of the critical media coverage DOT received that summer.

Fayette was ordered to Albany Sept. 12 for "a disciplinary interrogation" at which, he said, he was shown an Aug. 28 email from Breen instructing him not to speak so DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald could talk to the paper. The email came the day after Fayette talked to the paper.

Fayette could have contested the charges, but on Dec. 3, the state said he could accept a demotion and transfer to Albany. He turned it down and retired. Now he's seeking reinstatement, but the state won't consider it.