People v. Percy

74 Misc. 2d 522, 345 N.Y.S.2d 276, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1987
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedApril 26, 1973
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 74 Misc. 2d 522 (People v. Percy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Percy, 74 Misc. 2d 522, 345 N.Y.S.2d 276, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1987 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1973).

Opinion

Pierre G. Lundberg, J.

Through their respective attorneys and by various notices of motions defendants collectively, as to all the above-mentioned various indictments, seek a variety of relief. This memorandum decision deals solely with defendants ’ motions to dismiss all indictments pursuant to GPL 210.20 (subd. 1, par. [c]) and subdivision 5 of CPL 210.35. To distinguish this from other decisions simultaneously decided, I denominate this as the Defective Proceeding Decision.

BACKGROUND

By appropriate resolution adopted on April 28, 1969, the former Board of Supervisors acting pursuant to the Suffolk County Improvement Act authorized the condemnation of certain properties in the Town of Southampton, Suffolk County, New York, bounded generally by the Atlantic Ocean on the south and Shinnecock Bay on the north. The initial capital budget authorization of September 23, 1968, for this acquisition was $3,025,000. Approximately 35 parcels were involved and during the proceedings a claim was filed by the Town of Southampton to all lands on the ocean side between the top of the dunes and mean high water mark of the ocean; a similar claim was filed on the bay side by the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of Southampton to all lands below mean high water mark on the bay. The Town of Southampton claimed a public easement on the ocean side, whereas by virtue of the Dongan Patent the Trustees ’ claim was to the fee title of the lands below the mean high water mark.

The same attorneys represented both the town and the trustees, although each is a separate body politic. In like manner, these same claimants through the same attorneys were simultaneously asserting similar claims of title to properties lying just to the west of the taking and those claims were then being actively litigated in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County.

[524]*524In the month of June 1971, the County Legislature, successor to the Board of Supervisors, at the request of the County Attorney increased the capital budget appropriation to $7,500,000. Later in the month of June, 1971, the County Attorney presumably acting under the provisions of the Suffolk County Improvement Act as revised by chapter 435 of the Laws of 1969 and Resolution No. 340 of the Board of Supervisors adopted June 9,1969, settled the remaining claims, excluding the Jemkap Parcels (the McCarthy claim having been settled in 1970), for a total payment of $7,000,000. No payment was made to the town or the trustees; it would appear as a matter of law that their claims are still in existence.

On December 29, 1971, Mr. Justice Geiler in Dolphin Lane Assoc, v. Town of Southampton (72 Misc 2d 868) approved a radically new way of determining mean high water mark on the bay side which when applied to the taking map substantially increased the acreage under water to which the trustees claimed fee title. (As of this date, there has been no appellate decision approving or disapproving the Dolphin Lane determination.)

In December, 1971, the District Attorney commenced an investigation into this condemnation proceeding popularly and hereafter referred to as “ Barrier Beach ”. In July, 1972 testimony was presented to the Grand Jury then sitting, and its term was variously extended to December 15, 1972.

On December 8, 1972, the Grand Jury returned these indictments and on December 15, 1972, it returned a report pursuant to CPL 190.85 (subd. 1, par. [c]). It befell my lot to have to read the nearly 2,800 pages of Grand Jury minutes and 112 exhibits in connection with the report. As a matter of judicial economy and without apparent objection of the parties, all motions in relation to the indictments have been made before me.

The defendant, Percy, is.the County Attorney; Cameron was the, then, Supervisor of the Town of Southampton; R. Thomas Strong is a member of the County Legislature and at the time a member of its finance and budget committee; John Strong is a real estate broker, a brother of R. Thomas Strong, and the person who effected the total $7,000,000 settlement with the County Attorney on behalf of the claimants, some of whom paid him a fee and some of whom did not. Since the commencement of the Grand Jury proceedings John Strong has publicly stated that he received commissions of $500,000.

Collectively, the indictments contain: 2 counts of grand larceny, second degree, 13 counts of perjury, first degree, 6 counts of official misconduct, 2 counts of receiving reward for official [525]*525misconduct, 2 counts of rewarding official misconduct, 1 count of receiving unlawful gratuities, and 1 count of giving unlawful gratuities.

THE COUNTY’S APPRAISAL PROCEEDINGS

The County Attorney employs an independent appraiser to evaluate the property taken by condemnation; a written contract agreement is entered into between the parties. At the time of these proceedings, the County Attorney’s office had a Senior Review Appraiser who co-ordinated all appraisals and consulted with the independent appraisers, Assistant County Attorneys, employees of the Department of Public Works involved with county condemnations and regularly with the County Attorney. William R. Lockwood, a former State employee, held this position; one of his functions was to criticize the manner in which an appraisal was done. As per procedure, the independent appraisals are always denominated “ preliminary ”. In this case four preliminary appraisals were submitted. “ Preliminary I ” discussed the problems presented but ascribed no total or individual parcel valuations (although a formula is set forth from which one can project such values).

Preliminary II ’ ’ had both individual parcel and a total valuation — the total being $5,722,225, excluding Parcels 34 and 35 (Jemkap).

Lockwood was vigorously critical of the manner in which “ Preliminary II ” determined site improvement costs on the bay side, contending they should be much higher. He recommended and obtained the County Attorney’s approval for him to obtain an engineering study. ‘ Preliminary III ’ ’ applied this engineering study to the property of only 3 claimants being 8 of the 35 parcels. Using this basic information and applying the mathematics to all the bayside property (except for Parcel 31 there was no change in “ II ” and “ III ” as to ocean frontage value), Lockwood compiled figures for each of the parcels total-ling $4,422,475 including parcels 34 and 35. Using almost identically Lockwood’s figures, offers were made by the Department of Public Works to all claimants in September, 1970. (McCarthy, the only one to accept, will be separately discussed.)

“ Preliminary IV ” was submitted June 4, 1971; it maintains the same formula for the bay side as in “Preliminary III” with some adjustment, but increases ocean value from $400 a front foot to $500 a front foot with appropriate modifications upwards and downwards. The increase in ocean value is attributed partially to allegedly comparable sales and to a significant [526]*526difference in the interpretation of the Town of Southampton Zoning Ordinance applicable to these parcels. At the time of “ Preliminary II ”, officials of the town advised that four units an acre was the building limit; this was subsequently revised to 16 units an acre and made garden apartments feasible. ‘ Preliminary IV ” had a total value of $6,083,500.

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Bluebook (online)
74 Misc. 2d 522, 345 N.Y.S.2d 276, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1987, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-percy-nycountyct-1973.