Guilderland Town Councilman Mark Grimm accused Town Supervisor Ken Runion of having knowledge that Police Chief Carol Lawlor was complicit with former chief James Murley gambling on town time.
Lawlor, though, has not been charged by any investigating entity including the Albany County District Attorney, and New York State Police.
Grimm also speculated the approval of Linda Cure to a full-time position as public relations officer is related to the matter.
What Runion is doing now is trying to prop his image up, Grimm said. `He’s doing it now because he’s under fire.`
Grimm said using the money to restore emergency service workers cut due to budget constraints would be better.
Runion said Cure’s move to full-time was merit based, and she has done a lot of good work for the town in the past. Runion maintains that Lawlor had committed no wrongdoing, and the lack of charges against her is evidence of that.
Grimm is `out of touch with reality,` Runion said.
He said that Lawlor was qualified for the position, and he said she acted appropriately regarding Murley.
When asked if he was aware of any wrongdoing by Lawlor during her interview process, Runion maintained Lawlor did nothing wrong, and added,
`What I may or may not have known would have been irrelevant to the hiring process.`
For an update to the story check back at www.spotlightnews.com and see the Wednesday, April 29, issue of the Spotlight Newspaper.
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