NEW ROCHELLE, NY — In a letter sent to the Chairman of the New Rochelle Veterans Advisory Committee, Twinings Properties Chief Investment Officer Philip Wharton has alleged that Westchester County Veterans Service Agency Direct Ron Tocci engaged in bribery and extortion related to the New Rochelle Naval Armory.
Lawyers representing the City of New Rochelle, the New York State Attorney General and Pratt Landing/Twinings participated in a Settlement Conference with Plaintiffs Attorney Michael Amodio before Judge Charles Wood in the New York State Supreme Court on December 8, 2020.
A settlement deal fell apart after what one attorney called “outrageous 11th hour demands by plaintiffs” for complete control of the property and building — something he said went far beyond the demands in the lawsuit.
In the Twinings Properties letter, Wharton goes into detail on how he says the deal fell apart.
We had effectively addressed the concerns of the lawsuit by agreeing to preserve and restore the entire Armory structure and ensure public open space, and we had presented the plaintiffs with several options for space to lease in the Annex portion of the Armory for veteran groups.
But to our surprise, on this past Wednesday the 6th, Westchester County Director of Veteran Services Ronald Tocci contacted one of the principals at Twining Properties directly and told him he wanted to talk about “making a deal”. We were of course surprised by this, and we asked our attorney Mitch Rutkin, to contact Mr. Amodio to find out what was going on, since we believed we had already reached agreement and were drafting documents for signature.
Mr. Amodio’s response was that Mr. Tocci had a new, different proposal — Mr. Tocci would be willing to drop the lawsuit and help us get approval for the Pratt Landing project (which we hadn’t requested), but only if we gave Mr. Tocci personal control over the development of the Armory. This seemed like a wholly inappropriate proposal. First, it suggests that the negotiations over the past several months had been in bad faith. Secondly, more importantly, the message was that if we didn’t give Mr. Tocci personal control over the Armory, he would use his political influence to fight our project.
We believe that this is extortion specifically — Mr. Tocci threatening to use his power to force us to give him something — or a form of bribery. If we gave Mr. Tocci something of value personally — control of the Armory — he would help us with the governmental approvals we needed, the same approvals he has actively sought to deny us over the past year and a half.
We were hoping to reach an amicable settlement and proceed with the rehabilitation of the Armory, to preserve its legacy and accommodate the veteran community’s goals in our plans. We’ve acted in good faith and are ready to move forward.
Unfortunately, Mr. Tocci’s proposal — or threat — reveals what his true intentions were in filing the lawsuit had been all along. The lawsuit was less about the concerns and desires of the veteran community, and more about the personal enrichment and aggrandizement of Mr. Tocci himself.
Wharton stated his intention to file a complaint with the Westchester County Ethics Board.
“Westchester County government has no interest or involvement in any action relating to the New Rochelle Armory, ” said a Westchester County Spokesperson. “The County has no role to play in the approvals that may be required; the authority for such approvals lies with other levels of government.”
Efforts to reach Tocci, and Amodio, for comment late on Friday night were unsuccessful. The story will be updated with any response.
TWININGS LETTER
What answer is that from Westchester County. To loosely quote Dr. Strangelove, “although I hate to judge before all the facts are in, it’s beginning to look like he exceeded his authority.”