District Hires Independent Investigator in Case of Leaked Attorney Letter

The Three Village board of education on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure to hire an independent investigator to track down the source of a controversial letter from a school district attorney which was several weeks ago.

The district will spend up to $5,000 on the investigator's services, although board president John Diviney described that as a "soft cap" depending on the investigator's progress and findings.

"The investigation is starting," Diviney said. "It needs to be an independent person due to the nature of the allegations."

The investigator was hired at the recommendation of the school's general council, Gene Barnosky, whom Diviney said provides legal services outside of what the school's labor and employment attorney, Gregory Guercio, provides. Diviney said Barnosky's office began the investigation itself, but later recommended an independent investigator be retained.

The school board also unanimously approved the hiring of a separate investigator for another legal matter the district faces, which Diviney said could not be discussed because it is confidential. Additionally, the contract of a third independent investigator was extended to accommodate payment for services which the board deemed necessary in light of new findings related to a previous lawsuit.