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EDITORIAL
Thursday, July 11, 1996, p. 4.

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A matter of honor

Both a private, independent audit, and now an audit by the NYS Comptroller, have confirmed what The River Reporter first revealed over a year ago. Monticello police chief Mike Brennan and former village manager Bill Cummings went on a junket to Dallas, Texas -- on the backs of the taxpayers.

Brennan admitted to the comptroller's office that he "didn't consider this a business trip." Cummings owned an interest in a baseball league. The pair registered in a hotel under the name of that league. The league's president told a reporter last year that she witnessed "Bill and Mike interviewing people for the Newburgh team." Cummings' excuse for going was that he wanted to convert Monticello Raceway into a sports authority like The Meadowlands. He and Brennan went to the December 1994 winter baseball meetings, Cummings asserted, to check out the idea. The $1299.27 came from a "police training" line in the village budget, auditors concluded.

That finding is one more black mark for the Monticello police administration. Mind you, this is not about the uniformed officers who heroically risk their lives ensuring order. The issue is leadership, which some see as sadly lacking among Monticello's finest.

Consider:

Under Brennan's lieutenancy, in 1993, Nazi symbols appeared on police lockers. When former chief Walter Ramsay returned from medical leave, the racist icons were made public. Resulting outcry led to the formation of a village Human Rights Commission. Brennan rose to chief when Ramsay retired.

In 1994 and 1995, Cummings and Brennan decided they'd like some new cars to tool around in. Skipping the bidding process required by law, they made their desired buys from a local dealer. This too was cited in two separate audits this year.

In August 1995, an African-American man was brutalized at the Monticello police station. Brennan first announced he would investigate, but then turned the matter over to the DA's office when his partiality was questioned by the public.

When it was asked at a recent village board meeting whether Brennan would repay the public funds which he knowingly and intentionally used for a vacation with Cummings, Brennan sat mute.

Mayor Jim Kenny replied that restitution wasn't needed because the comptroller's office didn't specifically mandate it. In last spring's election, some police -- who neither vote, pay taxes, nor reside in the village -- were questioned about the propriety of campaigning on Kenny's behalf. Could the mayor's seeming leniency now be seen as a "thank you" for that support?

One would hope, at his core, that Brennan is an honorable man. After all, he chose an honorable profession. As an enforcer of society's covenants and morals he is expected to set an example for youth and the whole community. If the police chief takes what he can grab, regardless of the law or what's right, others may follow that bad lead.

Brennan can demonstrate his honor by voluntarily repaying the public monies which he wrongfully took. Anyone can make a mistake, and he would do well to admit making a big one. We would all prefer not to think that we have a crook for a chief of police. Hopefully, we don't.

But if Brennan won't give back the money, the only responsible option for village officials is to find a chief lawman who is truly worthy of public respect.

-- Tom Rue, contributing editor

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Note: The foregoing also appeared as a guest editorial in The Independent Weekly Review, July 15, 1996.