On March 2, 2011, Mount Vernon DPW Supervisor Rudy Persaud was arrested and charged with one count of 1st degree perjury, a felony. Persaud’s arrest is just the tip of the iceberg of the ongoing corruption in the administration of Mayor Clinton I. Young. Immediately following Persaud’s arrest, Mayor Young issued a statement: The statement was as follows:
 |
| MAYOR CLINTON YOUNG |
“The allegation against Mr. Persaud is serious and unfortunate. The allegation stems from incidents that took place in 2007 before my administration took office. Once the matter came to our attention in 2010, we acted quickly and responsibly. My administration is taking this matter very seriously. The City has taken action internally, and will do our best to protect the rights of all involved during this process.
I commend our Corporation Counsel and the Inspector General for their continued hard work on behalf of the citizens of the great City of Mount Vernon. My administration is focused on ensuring accountability of all City employees and will continue our investigations and joint efforts with the District Attorney’s Office.”
One can always predict the actions of Mayor Young. When Mayor Young is not hiding from the public, his political strategy for the last three years is to blame the corrupt acts of his administration on the prior administration. Mayor Young also failed to tell the public that Rudy Persaud was a high ranking member of his transition team immediately following the election in 2007.
 |
| INSPECTOR GENERAL HARRY STOKES |
In his press release Mayor Young commended the Inspector General and the Corporation counsel for their hard work during the Persaud Investigation. Mayor Yong’s remarks contradict the press release sent out by the Westchester County District Attorney’s office. The press release sent out by the district attorney’s office said that an investigation was initiated after a complaint was filed by the Corporation Counsel’s office. However Mayor Young did validate an allegation that has surfaced many times during his tenure as Mayor; THE INSPECTOR GENERAL IS USELESS AND DOES NOT WORK FOR THE TAXPAYER.
The hiring of Inspector General Harry Stokes was purely political. How can taxpayers expect Inspector General Stokes to weed out corruption when he is violating the City Charter every day that he shows up to work? Mount Vernon City law mandates that Stokes live south of Interstate 287. Stokes lives in Granite Springs, New York, well above Interstate 287.
Stokes investigating the Department of Public Works is a conflict of interest. Mayor Young and Inspector General Harry Stokes failed to inform the public that Stokes represented DPW Commissioner Terrence Horton in a lawsuit filed in 2006. The case was not fully disposed of until late 2008, well after Stokes assumed his position as Inspector General. It is a joke to think that Inspector General Harry Stokes would investigate a person that was once his client.
 |
| GANGA"RUDY"PERSAUD |
The arrest of Rudy Persaud sends a very loud and clear message to the public. “It is ok to steal from the taxpayers of Mount Vernon, just don’t get caught and if you get caught, when asked about it, just don’t lie.” If Mr. Persaud would have told the truth during his deposition with city officials, nothing would have happened to Mr. Persaud. He would have never been suspended with pay and he wouldn’t be facing criminal charges. Mr. Persaud dubbed by many of his co-workers as “Mr. Untouchable”, did not receive any disciplinary action for his prior corrupt acts of using taxpayer resources to beautify his own personal residence. In fact, Persaud was planning on cheating taxpayers from building department fees in connection with obtaining the necessary permits and approvals. Mr. Persaud retained an architect and filed for a building permit only after his corrupt acts were broadcast to the world.
Mayor Young failed to address the issue of Mr. Persaud using taxpayer resources for his own personal gain. Mayor Young told the media then that the matter is under investigation. The Inspector General has failed to inform the public of the status of his investigation. The Inspector General did not even release his yearly report indicating what he has worked on in 2010.
Mayor Young and his administration were trying to make a deal with Rudy even after it was discovered that Rudy lied under oath. The corporation counsel did not send a complaint to the district attorney’s office until well after it was broadcast on News12 and The Journal News. The Journal News and News12 coverage of the Persaud scandal was on January 8, 2011. Persaud was arrested on March 2, 2011. Anyone with any once of common sense can clearly see that it does not take almost three months to investigate a matter that is an open and shut case.
City officials worried that an arrest of Persaud would hurt the re-election campaign of Mayor Young, began to strike a deal with Mr. Persaud. Mr. Persaud was told that if he retired and signed a release agreeing to not speak about the offer and his corrupt acts, city officials would not pursue criminal charges against him and he would still be able to keep his pension. Mr. Persaud refused the bribery and intimidation tactics of Mayor Young’s administration. Mr. Persaud instead allegedly told Mayor Young, DPW Commissioner Horton and others, “If I go down, I am taking you all with me.” During his suspension, Persaud did not lose a single day of pay. Not bad for a corrupt City Official.
 |
| TERRENCE HORTON |
It has long been suspected that Persaud has a lot of dirt on DPW Commissioner Terrence Horton and Mayor Young. Chances are Persaud will turn states evidence and will be a government witness and will be the one to dismantle the corrupt regime of Mayor Young. Persaud may also need to enter the witness protection program. Mayor Young has already shown the public that he associates with violent thugs that have been tape recorded making death threats against those that expose corruption. Just imagine what they will try to do to Mr. Persaud.
Mount Vernon Exposed spoke with the homeowner that sued the City of Mount Vernon after she tripped and injured herself on the sidewalk in front of 245 Summit Avenue. The homeowner (hereinafter referred to as “Victim”) called Persaud “bad news and no good.”
Here is how the events unfolded that led to the arrest of Rudy Persaud-
The victim tripped and fell on the sidewalk in front on 245 Summit Avenue. As a result of her fall the victim suffered severe injuries. The owner of 245 Summit Avenue, Alice Seibert, then notified the City of Mount Vernon about the sidewalk. Persaud then went out to inspect the sidewalk to see if the City of Mount Vernon was responsible for repairing the sidewalk. Typically, the City of Mount Vernon repairs sidewalks if the damage is caused by tree roots.
In this instance, Persaud told Ms. Seibert that the damage was “environmental” meaning not caused by tree roots even though there was visible tree root damage according to the victim. Ms. Seibert is an elderly lady and it is quite possible that Mr. Persaud took advantage of her. It is unknown how long Mr. Persaud has been running this scam on Mount Vernon taxpayers. The victim who lives a few doors away from Ms. Seibert, states that after she fell, the City of Mount Vernon repaired her sidewalk and her neighbors to the right and left of her, but not Ms. Seibert’s sidewalk.
According to the victim, the deposition with city officials was in September 2010, not November 2010 as stated by Mayor Young and in the press release issued by the Westchester County District attorney’s office.
The lawsuit was filed by the victim in 2008 against the Alice Seibert and the City of Mount Vernon. The victim states that City officials called her in for a deposition in 2008 and never heard anything from the City of Mount Vernon until 2010.
The victim states that she had an interaction with Persaud after she fell in front of 245 Summit Avenue. The victim states she was showing Persaud what happened to her and Persaud’s response was “FUCK YOU”. The victim then said to Persaud “Look at my arm”. The victim’s arm was in a cast for six weeks. Persaud then responded “AND FUCK YOUR ARM”.
At the deposition, Ms. Seibert also revealed that she too fell on the sidewalk in front of her house and has filed numerous complaints with the City of Mount Vernon. It was also discovered that Persaud was hired to fix the sidewalk prior the victim falling. Persaud did not start on the agreed date which was a Saturday because Mayor Davis was having a block party just down the street at Friendship Worship Center. Persaud did not want Mayor Davis to see him using city resources.
Mount Vernon taxpayers should be fed up with the corruption of Mayor Young and his administration. Voters will have a chance to display their anger on September 14, 2011 when Mayor Young is voted out of office once and for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.