By Randy Koniowka
A 2004 and 2005 land deal between Common Council President George Primeau and the Clifton Park based Marini Builders, has sparked a internal investigation inside City Hall.
It all stems from the construction of a residential development off of Western Avenue in the city called Brighton Pointe, which borders Primeaus home.
Two parcels of land were given to Primeau, adding to his property area, in what some are alleging was a quid pro quo arrangement between Primeau and Marini Builders.
Copies of the deeds obtained by the Chronicle show no sale price and no mortgage tax paid for either parcel of land. One parcel, 200'x35' was the result of the discontinuance of a paper street that bordered Primeaus property.
A paper street is a street that only exists on city tax maps. They allow the city to retain the right of way to build a street in the future if they so desire.
A total of six paper streets were discontinued in an act of the Common Council in 2003. The legislation, sponsored by Primeau, was a necessary step in order for the development to proceed. That, according to a statement made by Mayor John McDonald in a 2005 article by the Troy Record.
The article was based on allegations made by an anonymous citizens group called CART, Citizens Against Rising Taxes. CART accused Primeau of what they identified as "buying his backyard back for one dollar."
In the article, Primeau went on record saying that the allegations by CART were "ludicrous and outrageous." He went on to claim that the paper street in question was divided between he and his neighbor and that they both benefited.
However,what Primeau and the article failed to mention, was that Primeaus son Dwayne, who's home also borders the development, received a free parcel of land from marini. That parcel, 156'x50' was also the product of the discontinuence of a paper street.
And nearly one year after the Record article was published, Primeau received another piece of land from Marini Builders, adding some 504 sq ft to his property, and in the process, creating a buffer between his home and the new development. According to Albany County land value maps, the land in question would have a value of between 700 and 800 dollars.
That would make the acceptance of the land a potential violation of the city ethics code, which states that no public official can accept a gift of over seventy five dollars in value, if a reasonable assumption can be made that he or she could, or has influenced legislation in favor of the party that gave the gift.
New York State Public Officers Law bans gifts of any nominal value, if it could be reasonably perceived that the gift was intended to influence or reward the person in the performance of his or her official duties.
This leads to the question of whether or not there was a quid pro quo arrangement between Primeau and Marini Builders. Meaning that the land given to Primeau was possibly used to influence his sponsorship of the 2003 legislation discontinuing the paper streets, and for his support of the development in general.
Mayor John McDonald does not think there was any such deal. "I don't think there was any backroom deal between George and Marini. The ordinance would have passed and the development would have proceeded with or without George. However, hindsight being 20/20, I would have advised George to stay away from the deal." The Mayor also said that the matter highlighted the need for ethics reform in Cohoes. "We need an independent ethics commission to deal with matters like this."
Sixth Ward Councilman Ralph Signoracci said that while he is unsure of whether or not Primeau committed any wrongdoing, he thinks the matter should be investigated. "The Council needs to look at this and it should be investigated. Personally, I would like to see the matter brought before the Albany County District Attorney's Public Integrity Commission. The Council does not have the resources, nor do we have the rules in place to handle this type of thing."
The City Council will take up the matter in executive session on April 13th. According to McDonald, the City has notified the District Attorney's Office and is awaiting a formal reply.
Council President George Primeau has not yet responded to the Chronicles request for an interview.
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