There's a shakeup in leadership in the town of Geddes following a guilty plea from Supervisor Manny Falcone. He admitted to eavesdropping on other people's conversations. As Alexa Green explains, prosecutors say he targeted employees he believed were problematic.
Geddes town employees were the first to raise the red flag. They reached out to State Police last year, fearing eavesdropping was happening inside the walls of town hall.
"Employees had concern they were being monitored or recorded and that their conversations in the hallway were being overheard," said Onondaga County Assistant District Attorney Caleb Petzoldt.
In December, Town Supervisor Manny Falcone's secretary, 56-year-old Ellen Colelli, was charged with eavesdropping. About two weeks later, Falcone took an abrupt leave of absence.
But on Wednesday, he admitted he ordered Colelli to secretly record those conversations so he could listen in. He resigned shortly after his court appearance.
"There are no indications from the defendant himself as to why he started doing this initially. Our investigation revealed it dealt with several employees, who were deemed problematic in an attempt to garner information. Although it was never used against any of those employees," Petzoldt said.
Prosecutors said the eavesdropping happened between February and September 2016 and that there was a total of five cameras installed throughout the building, but only one had audio capabilities
Falcone was silent through his court appearance, but his attorney said he hopes the crime won't overshadow years of public service.
"This is a single blemish on an otherwise impeccable record both personally and professionally, an outstanding history of overwhelming and extensive service for the people of the town of Geddes and people of Onondaga," said Michael Vavonese.
Falcone had been town supervisor since 2009.
In the meantime, the town board said an acting supervisor has taken over his duties. Sentencing has been set for next month.