by Kristina Gabalski
Ogden Town Justice David Murante says he will issue a written decision June 13 following a “Clayton” pre-trial hearing held in the criminal case against Brockport Mayor Connie Castaneda.
The purpose of the hearing, held April 26 in Ogden Town Court, was to determine whether charges in the case should be dismissed in the interest of justice.
Donald Thompson, Mayor Castaneda’s attorney, told the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald, Judge Murante now has broad discretion over the case.
“The whole spectrum is open to him,” Thompson said. “He could throw out all the charges, or some of the charges.”
Mayor Castaneda is charged with 14 counts of official misconduct and two counts of falsifying business records stemming from the alleged illegal rental of rooms at her home in the village.
At the end of the April 26 hearing, Judge Murante stated that after he renders his decision, a trial date will be set – if necessary – however; “I encourage (both sides) to work towards some sort of resolution here,” he told attorneys.
The defense called two witnesses: Brockport Building/Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Scott Zarnstorff and Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti.
Judge Murante was particularly interested in the process Zarnstorff utilizes when working to bring offending properties into compliance with village code and also questioned why the mayor was issued an appearance ticket as opposed to receiving a compliance order as a first step in the process. The judge also questioned the police chief and Zarnstorff about their decision to pursue criminal charges when civil penalties can be significant.
CEO Zarnstorff testified that the typical process of pursuing most violations is multi-step in nature, with an informal written or verbal compliance order given at first.
He told the court that an appearance ticket was issued in the case of Mayor Castaneda because the alleged violations had occurred previously and were not on-going at the time his department was informed of the complaint.
Zarnstorff said the mayor’s case was the first time he had dealt with pursuing a violation after it had already been completed.
The mayor’s arrest occurred in March 2012. The alleged illegal renting of an apartment in her home occurred between August 2010 and May 2011. During courtproceedings April 26, it was stated two former alleged tenants of Mayor Castaneda had filed a complaint with the Brockport Police Department after they had attempted to rent another apartment in the village.
Zarnstorff told Judge Murante there was no discussion between himself and the defendant in regards to the violations having criminal liability before the appearance ticket was issued.
Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti told the court he sought criminal charges because those who brought forth the complaint “wanted to see the law applied to the furthest extent.”
The police chief explained to the court that he looked upon the complainants as victims and would have pursued criminal charges even if they had not.
He said this is not the first time he has had to investigate a high level person and if he had not pursued criminal charges, he, “…would have been remiss.”
Chief Varrenti was also questioned by defense attorney Thompson as to whether he had an “adversarial relationship” with the defendant.
“Adversarial is a little strong,” Varrenti replied, and later during questioning described the relationship between himself and Mayor Castaneda as “contentious.”
Mayor Castaneda was present during the hearing, but was not called to testify.
