Greece, N.Y. — The Town of Greece has reached settlements in two federal civil lawsuits tied to allegations against the town’s previous administration.
One lawsuit, filed last year by a resident, accused the town under then-Supervisor Bill Reilich of placing a GPS tracker on his vehicle and subjecting him to around-the-clock unlawful surveillance.
The other, filed by former Deputy Public Works Commissioner Bobby Johnson, alleges the town required him to work thousands of unpaid hours for Reilich’s side business and personal affairs.
BACKGROUND: Judge calls for federal perjury probe into Greece Town Board member
Town Supervisor Jeff McCann said he could not discuss the terms of the settlements until all parties have signed the agreements and the documents are filed in court.
McCann said the settlements include no admission of wrongdoing by the town and resolve the claims brought in both lawsuits.
“This agreement allows the town to move forward, the residents to move forward and, importantly, the plaintiffs who are involved in this,” McCann said. “We’ve spent a lot of time in the first six months looking in the rearview mirror at things that happened before us.”
McCann said the town’s insurance coverage will cover a substantial portion of the settlement costs, though taxpayer dollars will also be used. He said he has concerns about the town’s budget heading into next year because of the payouts, but does not expect town services to be affected.
McCann added that Greece has already spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars defending the lawsuits.
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