Impersonating Law Enforcement, A Clear & Present Danger in Mt. Vernon

 AJ
Another false and misleading article by you and supported by George Brown and Andre Wallace they just can’t get it correct.
Clerk Brown and Deputy Clerk Carter have not been reaffirmed in office.
I took my oath in January and Clerk Brown will need better record keeping and or cooperation with those that serve the City.
I was sworn in on or about January 27, 2016 as a Deputy Police Commissioner. Just ask before always thinking you have something to send out that is totally misleading.
Joseph F. Spiezio, III (email response to a previous article)

OK so its time for some real talk. A lot has been written and a lot has been said about one Joseph Spiezio especially on Facebook. Mr. Spiezio was upset by an article that brought to life a case against him for not paying prevailing wages (an accusation him and his associates keep throwing around about Councilman André Wallace but have yet to provide proof when asked). He was mad BW didn’t take down the article and tell the public the case was thrown out because it was frivolous. Well we couldn’t because that is not what happened, the case was dismissed because of a conflict of interest by the opposing lawyer, but we are still investigating if the case was settled as we were told and he paid all the Latino workers. More on that when we finish our investigation (we will post the findings where ever they may lead.)

Most recently Mr. Spiezio is upset because a local blog or email blast accused him of Impersonating Law Enforcement. Mr Spiezio assumed it was BW (which it was not), but we promised him since he wants to accuse us, we would look into it despite that fact that it wasn’t even on our radar. What came out was a signed written oath of office was not signed and submitted to the City Clerks office (see letter below from City Clerk George Brown), within 30 days from the start of his terms as state law permits.

BW Publisher and BLEA’s NY Representative Damon K. Jones, brought it to the public’s attention at a rally for justice in front of OK Freddy’s Meat Market, where “Deputy Police Commissioner” Joseph Spiezio, was present at the closing and locking of doors of OK Freddy’s (as you can see in the picture above), but in reality, he is not a Deputy Police Commissioner of Mt. Vernon at all.

With the questionable closing of OK Freddy’s Meat Market, a new issue arises that was overlooked by Westchester’s mainstream media. At the press conference and rally for accountability at OK Freddy’s, Damon K. Jones, New York Representative, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America, spoke on the issue of Spiezio not being a Police Commissioner (see video above).

“In my 26 years of law enforcement, I have never seen someone who will blatantly carry a badge, wear jackets that say Police Commissioner and not be registered with the City Clerk in any capacity of law enforcement,” Jones stated. Jones has openly stated that he filed reports with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, NYS Attorney Generals Office and the US Attorney’s Office.

“You have a man who has a badge and with that badge comes the power to use deadly force and he has never been trained or certified by the city. The Thomas Administration has put the hard-working police officers and the public in danger.” said Jones.

“Mount Vernon is not different from any other city,” Jones says, “We have a rule of laws that must be followed that govern elected and appointed positions. Jones points to the city charter to make his case:”

Chapt. 24 Article IV: No person elected or appointed to a City office, or employed by the City shall enter upon or continue in the discharge of the duties of his office or employment until he shall have executed and filed with the City Clerk the official undertaking.

Jones then points to the letter from the City Clerk George Brown that was issued to the City Council that Joseph Spiezio was not on record in the Clerk’s Office holding any capacity in law enforcement.

When asked, ‘have these rules ever been enforced anywhere else?’ Jones laughs and says yes, I’m so glad you brought that up.

The Journal News reported on May 20th, that three Port Chester Village Trustees Greg Adams, Daniel Brakewood and Luis Marino — all Democrats were kicked out of office after they failed to sign legal paperwork with the City Clerk’s office following this year’s election win. They were told Thursday, May 19th by the village attorney that they were out, Brakewood and Marino told Lohud. So there is already case law in the County of Westchester.

Chapt. 24 Article IV Also reads ” An appointive officer or employee within 15 days after receipt of notice of his appointment, the office or position shall be deemed to be vacant and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner herein provided for the filling of a vacancy.

Jones also points to another letter from the clerk’s office that states that Deputy Commissioner Anthony Mitchell filled the position that Joseph Spiezio allegedly had. Since the City Charter only has one Honorary Deputy Police Commissioner position in it, Mr. Spiezio has been in fact impersonating law enforcement all along. He even has a siren for his car to pull people over.

Furthermore since Mr. Spiezio is the owner of R&S Waste Management and is on the approved list of carting companies in the City of Mount Vernon, his possession of a MVPD Police badge and Deputy Police Commissioner jacket gives him an unfair advantage over other carting companies like CRP Sanitation Inc, and who picks up OK Freddy’s Meat Market trash and who Mr. Spiezio has vowed to shut down. His illegal wielding of a police badge gives him the power to be able to carry such threats out as well as intimidate other’s to switch over to his service or face being shutdown the way OK Freddy’s was three times by the Thomas Administration

We reached out to Mr Spiezio via email to answer a few questions so we could get it right, after he accused us of misleading information about him:

Black Westchester is running the story in a hour, We will post the blurry document you gave us as your reply, we are willing to go on record and correct the story that you were never sworn in.

Now for the record so we get everything straight, I have a few questions that need to be answered, you say we didn’t get all the facts, well allow me to correct my error and get all the facts now and give you a chance to provide all the necessary information. Wait a minute, Black Westchester is not the one that said your were not sworn in as Police Commissioner, that I believe was a press release from Blacks In law Enforcement, I know we all look alike to you, but you have you black organizations mixed up but since you have taken the time to send us an email questioning our credibility, allow us to look into and post the truth, so again here is the information we need to make that happen.

1. Is your position, you swore in as Deputy Police Commissioner?
2. Are you receiving a salary and if so how much (before you say something like none of my business it is public record)?
3. The City Clerk told me this morning every position that has been sworn in has a copy of their oath of office with a seal on it from the city, so can you send me your copy with a seal on it from the city?
4. If you are not getting a salary, what is your position, is it honorary commissioner? The reason being is city charter of Mount Vernon only has one honorary commissioner in it and Anthony Mitchell is on record with the city as the Honorary Commissioner, so we need clarification.
5. Now that you clarified what your position is, what are you duties, what are your responsibilities in that position, because a lot of people are saying a lot of things and we would like to clear the record once and for all

I have already talked to City Clerk George Brown about not being reaffirmed and his response was they serve at the pleasure of the city council, and once appointed they stay appointed until let go or they step down.

Mr. Spiezio’s response a few hours later was as follows;

“Clearly Damon Jones has his own agenda and that is of expressing his personal opinion of matters. Not sure why but my guess is that his friend and mentor Giulio Cavallo has instilled in him a position, but he was not even at the meeting during the week to interview judges.

I have provided you with ample information and the Mayor and Acting PC can confirm my oath as Deputy Police Commissioner.

It appears if Brown does not have the oath then that seems to be a simple resolution but that is not my position. My position is, it was processed and this matter is moot.

Not sure many people are available to reply since it’s a long weekend so any article that contains misleading information will be brought to your attention.

Anthony Mitchell should confirm my role and support the mayor’s decision as well since we have been working together on matters and he will be issuing a press release on some of those matters shortly.

In closing not sure any of this matters in the interest of the City but always try to reply of any request that is reasonable.

Mr. Spiezio’s response is clear that he’s either ignorant of the City Charter or just disregards the Charter as law of the city”, said Jones.”What does Cavallo have to do with it? We’re not talking political parties, we’re talking public safety, the rule of law and the safety of the people of Mt. Vernon. It seems the only experience Mr. Spiezio has in law enforcement is staying out of jail.”

Acting Police Commissioner Ronald Fatigate and Honorary Deputy Police Commissioner of Community Affairs Anthony Mitchell could not be reached for comment to confirm or deny Mr. Spiezio’s response.

As you can see even when given a chance to correct what he called misleading, his response did not answer the questions asked, so if anything is misleading from this point on that would be on him, since he did not take the opportunity to correct us when we asked. You the reader have to ask yourself why didn’t he answer the questions and clear up any misleading comments when asked? Could it be, because it is true? I will let you the reader make up our own mind, but as promised Mr. Spiezio, this is what my findings show and I am sharing it with the public.

There has been enough misinformation being thrown out there,

Mr. Spiezio and anyone else involved we officially invite you to the People Before Politics Radio Show to set the record straight if you feel you have been wronged. This way the public can see you and I have this discussion in person and make up their own mind. We are on every Sunday, your team knows the address and time. Let’s cut the crap and have some real talk, man to man, in the name of transparency an accountability!