Evergreen Court: Both sides contest inspection report as Wayne Ballard trial begins


NEW CITY − What did Wayne Ballard know when he filed Spring Valley inspection reports with New York state before a fire at an adult home that left two people dead?

Attorneys put that question to Judge Kevin Russo on Tuesday during opening statements in the case against the former chief of the Spring Valley building and public works departments.

Ballard is accused of filing a false inspection report in 2020 with New York state that claimed the Evergreen Court Home for Adults had been inspected. In March 2021, a Spring Valley firefighter and an adult home resident died in a fire at the Lafayette Street adult home.

A grand jury charged Ballard with offering a false instrument for filing in the first and second degrees. This is the first trial resulting from the deadly blaze, which killed Spring Valley Fire Department Second Lt. Jared Lloyd, 35, and resident Oliver Hueston, 79.

Prosecutor Ryan Sweeney argued Tuesday that the former chief building inspector knowingly filed false information in a 1203 report for 2019 with the state Department of State. The so-called 1203 reports provide information on the workings of the building department, such as the number of inspections, building permits and certificates of occupancies.

But defense lawyer Noam Greenspan said in his opening statement that prosecutors have provided no evidence to support fraud allegations. He noted the Spring Valley filing system and inspection process was a mess, with documents filed in different places, and its electronic filing system was in bad shape.

Ballard, he said, had no reason to knowingly report incorrect information. The Spring Valley job was meant to cap Ballard’s career with a two-year contract before retiring. Ballard worked hard to clean up the filing system and backlog in inspections, Greenspan said.

Wayne Ballard appears in Rockland County Court in New City on Tuesday.

“The evidence will be pretty overwhelming that everything Mr. Ballard did was in good faith,” Greenspan said.

While the 1203 report covered all inspections per year, one discussion in court Tuesday centered on if and when Spring Valley inspected the Evergreen Court Home for Adults. One report noted the adult home had not been inspected yearly, while a second list showed the adult home had been inspected on April 22, 2019.

Ballard’s 2020 report claimed the Evergreen Court facility had been inspected.

State inspector John Addario is the director of the Department of State Office of Building and Codes, the office responsible for overseeing building departments. Spring Valley’s enforcement of state codes became so bad that the state deputized the Rockland County government to take charge in 2021.

When asked if the state had asked Ballard for copies of the inspections, Addario said, “I don’t believe so.”

Evergreen Court Fire: Judge upholds two charges against Ballard, dismisses a third count.

Ballard seeks dismissal: Spring Valley’s Ballard contends indictment charges not supported

Lawsuits: Families of Evergreen Court victims sue Evergreen Court, and others over his death. What to know

The case against Ballard and his defense

Attorneys for Ballard, a former elected Clarkstown Highways superintendent, provided documents showing Spring Valley Building Department records contained a reference to an inspection of the Evergreen Court.

New York State Public Service Commission investigators cited prosecution documents that Spring Valley officials were unable to provide inspections and other records more recent than 2016, according to a just-released report looking into water pressure issues.

In seeking to have the indictment dismissed, Ballard’s lead attorney, Sanford Talkin of Manhattan, argued prosecutors failed to produce sufficient evidence that the material contained in reports to the state was inaccurate and that Ballard knew about the inaccuracy.

On March 22, 2021, flames engulfed Evergreen Court on Lafayette Street. Lloyd, the father of two young boys, died when a portion of the former hotel built in 1903 building collapsed on him as he search again for more trapped residents. Lloyd and other firefighters evacuated 112 people.

Firefighters work at the scene of a major fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley March 23, 2021.

Evergreen Court had a history of building and fire code violations dating to the 1960s at the former Bader Hotel. The violations included faulty fire suppression systems, inadequate evacuation infrastructure such as emergency lights and fire escapes, and unlicensed contractors performing plumbing and construction work.

Other facilities owned by the Schoenberger family also had violations.

Ballard is not accused of any role in causing the fire. Neither is Ray Canario, a former building inspector and fire chief, also facing charges of filing false reports. His case is pending.

The Evergreen Court inferno erupted hours after Rabbi Nathaniel Sommer and his son Aaron Sommer used a 20-pound blowtorch to cleanse the Evergreen Court ovens and kitchen for Passover.

Prosecutors charge the actions by the Sommers set off the fire.  Both Sommers defendants pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, negligent homicide, arson, assault, and other charges and have denied acting maliciously. The assault charges cover people injured in the fire, including a firefighter.

Two other people who worked at Evergreen Court were charged. But the District Attorney’s Office resolved cases against Denise Kerr, the facility’s director, and former employee Manual Lema. Both received adjournments contemplating dismissal.

Russo scheduled the next trial sessions for 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and then 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.

Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.





Source link



from New York News Alert https://ift.tt/pRI2xlJ
via IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tornado in February? NJ Records Only 4 Twisters Since 1950

A tornado warning in February sparked questions from weather watchers in New Jersey on Tuesday due to the rarity of twisters in the winter month. The last time New Jersey recorded a tornado in February was on Feb. 12, 1999, according to the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist . No injuries were reported but the F1 tornado caused about $100,000 worth of damage in Camden. It was one of four tornadoes reported in the state since 1950. On Feb. 2, 1973, three twisters caused minor damage in Hunterdon, New Jersey. It is possible that there have been more tornadoes in February in the past, but due to “an apparent correlation between population density and the location of storm reports,” there may not have been reports of tornados in less populated areas, officials noted. Source link from New York News Alert https://ift.tt/I5vDyoO via IFTTT
Read more

NY ends home liens, wage garnishments in medical-debt collection. What you should know.

More than 50,000 New Yorkers have been sued for medical debt over the past five years Nationally, nearly 1 in 10 adults (9%) – or roughly 23 million Americans – owe medical debt, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found That includes 11 million who owe more than $2,000 and 3 million people who owe more than $10,000. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation that will end the use of home liens and wage garnishments in medical-debt collection. The measure amended the civil practice law and rules to prohibit home liens on an individual’s primary residence or garnishing wages to collect on medical debt. It takes effect immediately. The new state law comes after USA TODAY Network reported how dozens of hospitals in New York imposed a total of 4,880 liens on the homes of their patients with outstanding medical bills in recent years. “No one should face the threat of losing their home or falling into further debt after seeking medical care,” Hochul said in a stat...
Read more

Why Does It Feel Like Amazon Is Making Itself Worse?

Image
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer Let’s say you’re a regular Amazon shopper in need of a spatula. You might start your journey by typing the word “spatula” into the search box with a qualifier or two (“silicone,” “fish,” “magenta”). In response, Amazon will produce a very large list presented in a large paginated grid or, on a phone, a bottomless scroll. You have, it is implied, thousands of options within immediate reach; Amazon presents them to you in a particular but mostly unexplained order. Some of the spatulas you encounter first will carry brand names you’ve heard of before, like KitchenAid or Rubbermaid, while others will have names like IOCBYHZ, BANKKY, or KLAQQED. Some of them will appear identical to one another or even share the same product photos with different names and prices. Other listings will disclose, usually in small gray text, that they’re “sponsored.” (Of the 81 clickable, buyable products on my first page of search results for “spatula” — product ...
Read more