Former NY Paramedic to Get $225,000 Settlement

ALBANY -- The town of Colonie will pay a former paramedic $225,000 for manufacturing criminal subpoenas to unmask him as one of the authors of critical anonymous e-mails to the town supervisor.

The settlement, reached Thursday in U.S. District Court, is the second stemming from the town's efforts to identify two anonymous e-mailers who in 2003 alleged cronyism, misconduct and mismanagement in Colonie's Department of Emergency Medical Services.

Hugh Skerker, 48, sued the town, claiming officials violated his constitutional rights by issuing criminal subpoenas they had no authority to wield -- demanding his Internet service provider, Time Warner Cable, hand over his name and account information.

In pre-trial depositions, town lawyers admitted their error, calling it a procedural mistake that bore no malice or intent to violate the law.

The town lawyer who led the probe, Michele U. Mercadante, testified that Supervisor Mary Brizzell instructed her to find the identity of the e-mails' authors.

To that end, Mercadante instructed a police investigator to alter criminal subpoenas from county prosecutors to include the town's information, according to her testimony.

"I believe that there were mistakes made on both sides of this matter," said Edwin Tobin Jr., an outside attorney hired to represent the town.

Time Warner handed over the information identifying Skerker through his home computer because the company was complying with what it believed were valid subpoenas, officials there have said.

Tobin contends town lawyers could have obtained the same information through legitimate means other ways -- that the town's error was essentially procedural.

"There was no evidence of some sort of wrongful intent here," Tobin said. "But what is clear here is that the town attorneys involved did not know of the new statutory scheme and how to apply it in this case."

The case gained wide attention after being first reported by the Times Union in 2005. Skerker's suit centered on whether town lawyers should have known they did not have the authority to issue criminal subpoenas.

The town's position was muddied by the fact that prosecutors and its own police department had previously decided the e-mails did not appear to violate any harassment laws because they contained no threats or foul language.

Also, the state Department of Health found that one e-mail, which accounted the alleged mishandling of the care of a woman injured in a car accident, violated no privacy laws because it contained no identifying information.

Skerker was suspended by an arbitrator in early 2004 for dispatching the missives, which the state Public Employees Review Board found to be "basically the rumblings of a disgruntled employee who appeared to be getting back at his supervisors," according to Tobin. As part of the agreement reached Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David R. Homer, Skerker must formally resign and cannot reapply for a town EMS job for five years.

Skerker has not returned to work since his suspension ended but still technically remained a town employee, though he was not being paid, officials said.

The $225,000 settlement includes his attorneys fees.

"He's thrilled to get this behind him and he believes the amount and the changes at the town vindicate him, which they do," Kevin Luibrand, his attorney, said.

"What is troubling is that so many officials in the town of Colonie had a hand in issuing the illegal subpoenas," Luibrand said. "This was not just some low-level decision but involved the supervisor, the head town attorney, a top investigator for the police department and another attorney who altogether participated in issuing phony subpoenas.

"The amount of the settlement speaks volumes about how significant the problem was," he said.

Town Supervisor Mary Brizzell declined to comment on the settlement Thursday night at a Town Board meeting, referring inquiries to Tobin, the town's outside counsel.

Arnis Zilgme, the town's chief attorney, who signed some of the subpoenas, similarly declined to comment on the settlement.

At the meeting, Ken Champagne, a Latham resident and frequent critic of the current administration, renewed his call for Zilgme to give up his post. But Zilgme said he plans to remain.

"The Town Board thoroughly reviewed this matter, and I do not intend to resign," the attorney said.

In 2005, the town settled a parallel lawsuit by former volunteer EMS worker Bill Gardner, 55, who officials identified as another source of anonymous e-mails being dispatched to Brizzell. In that case, the town settled for $21,000 plus legal fees.

Gardner was fired for being "difficult to supervise."

Town Comptroller Ronald Caponera said Colonie's insurance kicks in after $250,000, so the town will have to pay $149,000 from this settlement before reaching that threshold.

He said paying the settlement should not harm other town services because money had already been included in this year's budget as a precaution. The case also sparked an investigation from Albany County District Attorney David Soares' office. Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@ timesunion.com.

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