The largest town in America has been held in contempt by a New York judge for releasing just 17 of nearly 3,000 emails sought in a battle over alleged illegally issued school-bus-camera tickets.
State Supreme Court Justice Maureen McHugh Heitner last week ruled that the failure of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, Long Island, to produce the roughly 3,000 records amounted to “willful disobedience and resistance.”
The town had agreed to release the records after signing an agreement in June with the Brooklyn-based Aron Law PLLC, which is repping accused scofflaws — yet Hempstead has produced only 17 emails to date, court papers show.
“Historically that’s been our experience with the town,” said lead plaintiff lawyer Joseph Aron.
At issue is the town’s use of the buses’ footage to ticket drivers who fail to properly stop for them — a safety move that is also a major moneymaker, raking in tens of millions of dollars.
Aron’s law firm sued the town when Hempstead officials denied its original Sept. 2024 Freedom of Information Law request for the sought-after emails on the town’s servers, specifically any that contain the term “croce.”
The firm’s request centered on whether the town was still issuing bus-camera violations in spite of People v. Croce — a 2023 Suffolk County decision that threw out a driver’s conviction after finding school-bus-camera footage alone wasn’t enough to prove guilt.
After the town denied Aron’s FOIL request as “overbroad,” the lawyer took the case to the state supreme court, and in June, signed a stipulation with the town requiring the release of the records.
But the town did not fulfil its end of the bargain and turn over the records it agreed to, the judge said.
Heitner’s contempt order now requires the town to produce the remaining more than 2,850 emails, in full and without redactions, within 60 days.
The ruling also entitles Aron Law to be reimbursed legal fees and damages, an amount the court will determine in December.
On Wednesday, Town Attorney John Maccarone told Newsday that he was unaware of the contempt ruling.
A rep for the town later confirmed the ruling and insisted “the town will work to comply with the Judge’s order.”
The town stressed that the case began under former Supervisor Donald Clavin and that current Supervisor John Ferretti, who was appointed in August, has since instructed its lawyers to release “all the emails.”
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