Updated: Findings of Former White Plains Mayor's Ethics Investigation May Never Be Known

Now that former White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley has resigned, and the City’s Board of Ethics has no jurisdiction over him—the public may never know what, if anything, the board found during their investigation of his alleged misconduct.

The reason: it’s City law.  

The Board of Ethics is required to stay mum throughout their investigation, under City code. Documents pertaining to a complaint or investigation remain confidential when charges are dismissed, which would be the case since Bradley is no longer an official or employee of the City. 

However, some experts argue that the information could be revealed. Click here to read more in The Journal News' article. 

“The fact of the matter is that’s [revealing information about the investigation] not what our current law provides,” said Board of Ethics Chair Mark Elliott. “There’s good points on all sides—but until the law changes—I’m going to follow what it says, and so will the rest of my board.”

Bradley’s sudden Friday has left many wondering whether his decision has anything to do with the City’s Board of Ethics meeting, that happened the night before. 

Bradley while being tried for domestic violence, despite calls for his resignation from , and . He also refused after being of contempt of court, attempted assault and harassment. Bradley, who says he will appeal, is being sentenced on March 17.

The former mayor said he didn't resign earlier because he thought his legal woes would have been resolved by now. He is now looking to spend more time focusing on those issues. He also said he wanted to resign before April 1, to allow for a special election within 60 days. The election date hasn’t been set, but Acting Mayor Thomas Roach—who is also council president and running during the special election— said he would like the election to be held immediately.

All the while, the Board of Ethics has been investigating Bradley to see whether he gave favorable treatment to his landlord, when he moved into 19 Hall Ave., after being forced to move out of his martial home because of a restraining order.

According to The Journal News, Bradley arranged a meeting with the landlord—Walter Gabriele, a Katonah developer—to discuss purchasing city land, development at 21-23 Harmon St. and garbage pickup. The garbage matter was resolved shortly after the meeting, though Gabriele didn’t meet all city requirements, The Journal News said.

The only reason the public was tipped off to the allegations is because—when an ethics complaint involves the mayor, the White Plains Common Council has to approve a budget for legal fees for the board’s investigation, which was about $20,000. 

The Code of Ethics—found in sec. 2-5-111.14 of the city’s charter—states that “no member of the board of ethics or any of the board’s authorized agents may communicate directly or indirectly with any party or other person about any issue of fact or law regarding the complaint…” and that “the complaint, records and other proceedings related thereto prior to the filings of charges or dismissal of the complaint are deemed confidential.”

“Mr. Bradley, however, resigned which in a fashion is the ultimate punishment a public official can experience,” said Elliott. “He made that decision of his own volition. We have no legal jurisdiction over Bradley who is not mayor, but a private citizen.”

The Board of Ethics will meet behind closed doors, at city hall Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., to most likely dismiss charges against Bradley. 

“What I believe the Council had in mind in 1999 [when the passed the confidentiality section of the code regarding ethics board investigations] was to protect public officials from scandalous or frivolous complaints, and that proceedings regarding any complaint shall be held confidential until a later stage in the procedure when the ethics board has filed formal charges," said Elliott. 

Some argue that the information is crucial to have early on before formal charges are brought. Elliott says residents have the right to disagree or agree with the way the current code is written, and that he “deeply respects the idea of open government”—but unless the council decides to change the law, he and his board must respect it.

Executive Director of the New York State Committee on Open Government Robert Freeman, an attorney, says that only state or federal can forbid documents from the investigation from being revealed, according to The Journal News. Click here to read more in The Journal News' article.