Albany Times Union, NY
June 1 2004
Ex-cop’s future on force in doubt
Legal action threatened by 2 detectives if Cmdr. Christian
D’Alessandro is rehired by the city
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
ALBANY — Two members of the Albany police force have threatened
legal action against the city if former Cmdr. Christian D’Alessandro,
whose firing earlier this year ignited widespread controversy, is
rehired by the department.
John W. Bailey, an attorney for Cmdr. Ralph Tashjian and Detective
Susan Miller, contends at least four minority officers accused
D’Alessandro of racism when he was commander of detectives. Bailey
wrote a letter to Chief James Turley last week in which he warned
that “should the Police Department make the mistake of re-employing
Mr. D’Alessandro, my clients intend to fully explore and exercise
all of their legal options.”
Tashjian is of Armenian descent; Miller is black.
In an interview, Bailey said the letter was prompted by recent rumors
that city officials may consider reinstating D’Alessandro. He was
fired in February for allegedly lying to internal affairs detectives
about an anonymous derogatory flier that targeted Tashjian, who now
heads the detective division.
Bailey said he also represents Victor Arocho, a former city detective
who works for the FBI.
“I represent three people who are legitimately concerned
about the prospect of Mr. D’Alessandro being re-employed by the
Police Department,” Bailey said. “In their view, he treated them
inappropriately while supervising them while in the department,
and they believe it is related to their race or their ethnicity.”
D’Alessandro could not be reached for comment Monday.
On Feb. 4, two days before D’Alessandro was fired by former Chief
Robert Wolfgang, Detective Kenneth Wilcox, who is black, filed a notice
of claim against the city that targeted D’Alessandro. In the claim,
Wilcox said he “has been harassed, defamed, falsely accused, berated,
discriminated against and generally been subjected to a hostile work
environment due to his ethnicity.”
In an interview that week, Wilcox claimed D’Alessandro had been
“discriminating against black officers since 1995.”
But within many of the city’s minority neighborhoods, D’Alessandro
has won accolades from residents for his community-policing efforts.
Dozens of residents have jammed city meetings demanding he be
reinstated and charging that his critics were disgruntled officers
who were unhappy when D’Alessandro targeted their work ethic.
The charges of racism against the former commander began to surface
more than two years ago at a time when D’Alessandro was critiquing and
auditing the work ethic and standards of detectives under his command.
D’Alessandro’s standing in the department, and his relationship with
Wilcox, began to waver that year after he issued a report analyzing
the arrest production of detectives who made more than $80,000 in 2001.
Wilcox made more than $95,000 that year. But D’Alessandro’s report
said Wilcox made just four arrests in connection with the $25,000 in
overtime he was paid; in contrast, the report said, another officer
who earned $16,000 in overtime made 127 arrests. Wilcox has denied
the report was behind his lawsuit.
Other memorandums filed in early 2002 by D’Alessandro outlined serious
allegations of forgery, fraud and misconduct by detectives. He was
reassigned to patrol duties shortly after writing the memorandums.
“The memo and the timing of my transfer speaks for itself,”
D’Alessandro said previously, declining further comment.
His supporters, including many community activists, have pointed out
that D’Alessandro has been a longtime Big Brother to a black child
from Delmar and he regularly attends Bible study classes at a Baptist
church in Arbor Hill.
His firing continues to hang over the department. But police sources
said the retirements of Wolfgang and former Public Safety Commissioner
John C. Nielsen, and the promotions of three commanders to newly
created assistant chief jobs, appeared to open a new era for the
department after a year of turmoil.
Turley, who was promoted to chief on May 3, allegedly expressed his
uneasiness with D’Alessandro’s reassignment from the detective unit
two years ago, according to department sources. But whether that will
be a factor in D’Alessandro being offered his job back is unclear.
Police and city officials could not be reached for comment on Monday.