Opinion ID: 789575
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The investigation and removal

Text: 12 On January 28, five days after the alleged incident, an investigation was begun by the Chancellor's Office of Special Investigations and conducted by defendants Thomas Hyland, Anthony DeLeo, and Robert Colon. These investigators interviewed sixteen witnesses — including all nine board members, Acting Superintendent Santiago, Santiago's assistant, a custodian and security guard at P.S. # 137, and two parents-and acquired a sample of the pink powder from defendant Goldman. 4 Goldman told them that he had received the sample from Ortiz, who allegedly retrieved it from its location in front of the Superintendent's office door after Velez had ostensibly placed it there. 5 Upon completing the interviews, the Office of Special Investigations submitted a report to the Chancellor dated February 11, 2002. The report concluded that the allegation that Amy Velez, a member of Community School Board # 1, placed a suspicious powder in front of [the Acting Superintendent's] door on January 23, 2003 is substantiated with corroboration from Nancy Ortiz. 6 13 A few days after receiving the report, Levy decided to exercise his authority under N.Y. Educ. Law § 2590- l (1) and (2), and, on March 15, 2002, he removed the plaintiff from her board position. In his letter to that effect addressed to Velez, he noted that the Office of Special Investigation... has issued a report substantiating an allegation that on January 23, 2002, you placed `voodoo' powder in front of the door of the superintendent of Community School District 1. He continued: I conclude that your action ... was, at a minimum, an attempt on your part to harass, frighten, and/or intimidate the superintendent and possibly others. Since the events of September 11, it should be obvious to you that depositing an unknown foreign substance in front of an office will cause disruption and anxiety.... And he concluded: I find that your actions may be criminal in nature and constitute inappropriate behavior for a school board member. Having found that the alleged conduct was criminal, Levy determined that no conciliation was required and he removed Velez from the board effective immediately.