The Intimidators

A criminal complaint has been issued against a board member in regards to an incident in which this person allegedly intimidated and assaulted another member of our association after the board meeting on March 9th.

At the board meeting of April 13, the board voted unanimously to have our attorney, David Bendoff, represent this person in court, scheduled for May 27th. Please see the Post Meeting Round Up April 13th newsletter, Motions from Closed Session section.

Our By-Laws give a board member the right to indemnification if "with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful" (pp. C-21). It's stretching credibiility to believe that this board member thought that physically assaulting someone was not unlawful. I see no reason why he should be entitled to a legal defense at our expense.

Our leadership has developed a reputation for being abrasive and heavy handed. I've witnessed firsthand the arrogant, condescending and disrespectful behavior toward fellow members by our board president, Mr. George Pauley, in particular.

Our board manages by intimidation and this behavior is reflected throughout our administration. Consider the widely reported criminal complaint against David Nicosia. Consider the zeal with which Michael Parrie levies fines against his fellow residents at our board meetings and the effort that's been devoted to what seems a never ending expansion of our Rules and Regulations handbook. Consider the number and size of the fines levied monthly.

I think we need an addendum to our Rules and Regs. that applies specifically to board members which should include dealing with conflicts of interest, signing personal contracts with firms that do business with our association and requiring fair, respectful and unbiased behavior toward all association members.

Consider the harassment faced by numerous owners and residents and the litigation that we've dealt with over the years simply because the board and management have taken such a heavy handed approach. I suspect this had a lot to do with why Jacquie, Jenny and Mavis in the management office decided to leave. These people had been with us for years. What motivated them to jump ship, all within a relatively short span of time? They were the troops in the trenches that had to deal with the friction between our administration and the owners and residents of this building.

Are these the type of people with the moral character that we want running our association?