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site: tom@rue-usa.net'Monticello Five' case to Town of Thompson Court
MONTICELLO - The case of the five people arrested at a Monticello Village board meeting last month has been assigned to the Town of Thompson Justice Court by Sullivan County Court Judge Anthony T. Kane.
The five, dubbed the "Monticello Five," included Glenn Pontier, editor of the Narrowsburg -based River Reporter, Mary Marino, Charles Stephenson, and Thomas and Carmen Rue.
They were arrested during the course of a Monticello Village board meeting on August 2 for carrying signs into the meeting despite warnings that to do so would result in their arrestss.
The five were charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, and released, with their cases originally assigned to Village of Monticello Justice Court.
However, Village Justice John Diuguid and Acting Justice Josephine Finn both recused themselves from the case due to conflicts of interest, and the case was then handed over to Judge Kane for reassignment to another court.
In his ruling, Judge Kane found that both Diuguid and Finn were within their bounds when they recused themselves from the case, and also denied a motion by Pontier to dismiss the charges and return the case to the Village of Monticello Justice Court.
At the August 2 meeting, the protesters were carrying signs which objected to a switch of positions among village officials earlier this year, in which Diuguid resigned as mayor to become village justice, Trustee Robert Friedland became mayor, and Gladys Walker, who is Finn's sister, was appointed as a village trustee to fill a vacancy created by the switch.
No court date to consider the charges has yet been set in the Town of Thompson Justice Court.
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