North County News Fumbles On Second Biggest Story of the Year

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what are three pictures worth? They are priceless to a politician – especially one who treats politics as a bloodsport, as Mayor Mary Foster does.

This week’s North County News published three pictures of Foster, as if no one else in Northern Westchester is as newsworthy as she. So blinded is the NCN editorial board by Foster’s smoke-and-mirrors routine that they dropped the ball on a huge story. Readers must seriously question whether the paper’s current publisher and editors are capable of recognizing journalism, much less producing it.

In an article entitled, “Peekskill Planning Chair Steps Down,” the NCN meekly reports Foster’s spin on the matter, and then offers a rebuttal, as if this tells the public the story they deserve to hear. The NCN had a great opportunity to produce a piece of real journalism, but they failed miserably – yet again.

Many small newspapers pride themselves on journalistic integrity, but the NCN is not one of them. Since the NCN clearly doesn’t know how to ask probing questions, the Peekskill News will help them get to the bottom of the story they failed to report, another in a long line of missed opportunities by the NCN, gems laid at their feet that they were too weak to pick up.

The NCN reports that Peekskill Mayor Foster was “told by a developer” that Planning Commission Chairman Barney Molloy had just moved to Cortlandt, and that she used this information to justify dispatching the police to investigate Molloy, and ultimately demand his immediate resignation from the Planning Commission.

The first question a real journalist would ask is, What would motivate someone to tell the Mayor Molloy had moved? Real estate transactions are not transparent, and one needs inside information to know when deals are closed. Someone went to a lot of trouble and expense to track Molloy’s personal business. Who did this and why?

Indeed, the natural question a real journalist would ask is, What developer told the Mayor Molloy had moved? Certainly this is relevant information, since developers routinely have business before the Planning Commission. This particular developer induced the Mayor to the extraordinary action of pressuring the police to investigate a private citizen, so the public has a clear right to know who it was. But the NCN editors couldn’t follow a story if Hansel and Gretel had nailed their bread crumbs to the ground.

We have learned that the developer who informed Mayor Foster of Molloy's move was Phil Miller, who had certain projects rebuffed while Molloy was Chairman of the Planning Commission. This was a fact that the NCN could have easily confirmed. But they didn’t. Miller has a long and public dislike of Molloy, something any real journalist could easily discover by talking to any number of people who live and do business in Peekskill.

In addition, Miller is a huge financial supporter of Mary Foster and the Peekskill Democratic City Committee, a fact easily confirmed by checking public records. Just look for contributions from Phil Miller and his entities, including 3 Corporate Drive LLC. That the NCN missed this significant part of the story can only be attributable to gross negligence, willful blindness, or unabashed ignorance.

Did the NCN look to see what was on the agenda at the Planning Commission the evening of February 13th, what was supposed to be Molloy’s last meeting? Phil Miller was applying for a variance. You can bet that Mary Foster was looking out for a big political contributor when she prevented Molloy from presiding over this meeting.

The NCN reports Mary Foster as saying that the Police Chief acted on Foster’s direction to investigate Molloy. Did the NCN talk to the Police Chief? Our investigation reveals that Police Chief Tumulo refused to engage in Foster’s underhanded politics. Foster had to wait until Tumulo left the office for the day to pressure the police on duty to carry out her rogue investigation.

Did the NCN ask at what time the police went to Molloy’s residences? The Peekskill News has uncovered that it was late in the evening, when police do not normally invade residences that haven’t called for help. Why did the police act at such a late hour when the Police Chief was not around?

Was it even appropriate for Foster to act alone in summoning her rogue investigation? Wasn’t this a matter for the Common Council to discuss, not a matter to be carried out underhandedly by a renegade Mayor, consumed by settling political scores on behalf of major political contributors?

Foster hid behind a consultant when explaining why she excluded the public from discussion of the disposition of the taxpayer’s option on the Karta property. And now Foster is hiding behind the threat of litigation from one of her political contributors to justify renegade investigations, dispatching the police in the late evening to harass people she perceives to be political enemies.

The NCN lacked the ability to see through Foster’s political spin and uncover the rank corruption and abuse of power that lay at Foster’s feet.

Dead fish deserve better than to be wrapped in the NCN.

And the public deserves much, much more from paid media.

And this is why we must continue to exist: to do what paid (or bought) media will not.

The North County News will remain a public disgrace until they summon the courage to deplore the blatant abuse of power by Mary Foster.