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The woman who was accused of being linked to a pornographic Web site during an interview for the town of Rochester's Historic Preservation Commission has filed a small claims suit in Hurley for monetary losses resulting from an accident she had immediately afterward in the Town Hall parking lot.
It is the first legal action resulting from the infamous interview, where Kerhonkson resident Manuela Mihailescu said town board members and town Supervisor Pam Duke showed her several obscene images from a pornographic Web site they believed she was linked to.
And it's also the first time the town has gone on record regarding the particulars of the interview and discussions leading up to it. Until the court proceedings on June 26, the town officials had declined comment, saying the interview was held in a privileged executive session.
Mihailescu is suing the Town of Rochester for a total of $988.92 to cover losses resulting from the car accident, which she testified was the result of "shock and emotional distress" she felt as she left her second interview for the Commission position on Jan. 24.
She itemized her suit: her car, a white Dodge Dakota, suffered a broken tail light at a cost of $79.68; another $894.60 would pay for the increase in Mihailescu's insurance premiums for the next three years; and the rest was to pay filing fees.
Mihailescu, a Romanian immigrant and local business owner, represented herself in the proceedings. Two board members from opposite sides of the argument — Francis Gray and Ron Santosky — were called as witnesses, as were Duke and Town Attorney Rod Futerfas.
More than two hours of testimony and questioning included two motions to dismiss by the town's attorney, Robert Nachamie, both of which were declined by Town of Hurley Judge John Parker.
Mihailescu argued that the town should pay for her losses because the accident would not have happened if she had not been put in such a state by the interview.
"The timing of this accident is key," she said.
Nachamie countered that Mihailescu was not forced to get behind the wheel and drive in such a state, relating the situation to making a choice to drive after having a drink or taking drugs. "What if she hit a kid?" he asked.
He then asked the judge to dismiss the case, but Parker chose to reserve his decision.
Although the suit was over the car accident, much of the testimony and questioning centered around the particulars of that interview, despite several objections from Nachamie.
Tempers flared when Town Board member Santosky took the stand. Under oath, he said fellow board member Gray admitted to intentionally trying to keep Mihailescu, his neighbor, off the Commission.
"This all came from Francis Gray," he said.
Gray, waiting to be called to the stand himself, began to respond, but was quieted by his lawyer.
Under oath later in the proceedings, Gray maintained that information about the alleged porn link was brought to himself and fellow Town Board member Alex Miller by "a reputable person."
"At least one or two town board members were contacted," he said.
Gray also said Santosky's testimony was a lie and said he was "being railroaded into misinformation because of the coming election."
On the witness stand, Duke, Gray and Futerfas all said they did not personally duplicate the Web search for Mihailescu's alleged porn link because they trusted the source of the information. Futerfas testified that he asked Miller and Gray if the results were verifiable. "They said yes. I took their word on that," he said.
Duke said that the board, once apprised of the possible porn link, discussed what to do with the information. She said that while owning an adult site is not illegal, Mihailescu's position on a town commission could put the town at risk.
"It would not have been fair to vote her down based on a rumor," Duke said. "It was decided the fair thing to do was to simply ask her. This was not a witch hunt, not an accusation. It was explained to her that this could have an impact... on the Historic Preservation Commission."
Despite urging from the board not to look at the obscene images compiled from the Web site, Mihailescu demanded to see them, Duke said.
"If I was accused of this, I would ask to see them also," the judge said.
In his summation, Nachamie stressed that Mihailescu made the choice to drive after the interview, and said the Town Board acted appropriately.
"All she has proven is my clients were doing their just duty... getting to the fact of the matter," he said. "There was no malice on the part of the board."
Parker is expected to reach a decision on the case within two weeks.
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