UPDATE: New date set for Mahopac Bridge Program case
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- February
- 29
A special prosecutor from the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, Joanna DeVito, has been assigned to the case against four educators from the the former Bridge Program at Mahpoac Falls Elementary School.
The case is due back in Carmel Town Court at 6 p.m. March 11.
Click here for some of the back story.
This entry was posted
on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm by Diana Costello.
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Thank you for the update. This case will probably go on for a very long time from the looks of it.
tell me about it…
It seems step 1 was to appoint a special prosecutor. Hopefully this will get the ball rolling toward an end to this fiasco & the accused will finally have their day.
Yes, the accused certainly deserve for this fiasco to end, finally! I wonder if anything ever came of the lawsuits against the accusers?
One has to assume that the case was once again postponed, what a waste of taxpayers money and the courts time.
I’m assuming the same & agree with you, jjm! Very sad, especially for the innocent & their families.
yeah, sorry for the delayed reply, but the case again has been adjourned….
oh yeah, and no word on a new date as of yet.
This month will mark the first year anniversary of this case—I remember the day well. One whole year and no progress, never mind justice, for anybody. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be in legal/professional limbo for that amount of time. At least the prosecutor is the one that has to travel, not the accused . . . Diane, I may have missed it but how was the SP selected?
TomsMom,
I’m told the Putnam DA shopped it out to Westchester and Rockland counties based on convenience of location.
I think time has stood still on this case. There have been no updates and no word on the street that anything has begun. My heart goes out to the accussed for having to suffer through this for a year.
I am sure everyone wants this over! Not only the accused but the parents as well. If you don’t know about this case don’t comment. Remember we are suppose to protect the children first! There was something defintely not right with all of this! There are things some people don’t even know about! So when is their next day in court? I am never interested being part of jury but if I get something in the mail you better believe I am signing it!
UPDATE: A court conference is scheduled for June 10, according to a lawyer representing Tammy Card.
Sally, Well I HOPE you are NOT on that jury because YOU are the one who does not know the FACTS! The children are the ones suffering because of lies & having their teacher & aides removed from their lives. From what I’ve learned, yes info is available, the civil cases are now in progress. Meaning, the wrongfully accused are suing the school, police & the accusers. You would be surprised to learn that the school is already wanting to settle. HMMMMMMM. Depositions were given to the lawyers representing the school & police dept. They were VERY surprised at what they learned about the accusers.
Now, I would LOVE to be on that jury myself because I KNOW the facts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hang in there, innocent 4.
Didn’t realize people were still commenting here. I definitely agree with Jillian as I’ve heard some of the same things she has. I think that Sally is one of the parents who was visited by the accusers way back in the beginning. She & the other parents didn’t realize that they were being “set up” before this issue blew wide open.
To the wrongfully accused, hang in there. To the accusers, how the heck do you sleep at night?
Hi everyone,
I hope everyone realizes where I stand with all of this! I know one of the children in the program. I know for dam sure that something definitely happened! I see this child often and he is still dealing with it! His whole family has been going through it as well as others. I hate to say this, but I graduated from this school district. When I was 15 the school thought I could get extra help in the resource room. At the time my parents were very upset with the school. They felt that they should of offered this to me years before. I work with children now myself. I am not a teacher, but something related to it. I am not a firm believer in this district! I hope those people that did this suffer the rest of their lives! I don’t care who got special rewards! You could be Jack the ripper and getting rewards. If some the accused read this they need to stop harassing some of the parents. Yes it has happened! If they know whats good for them they should stop. What will happen is all the families in Mahopac not involved will be involved! I hope by September we are somewheres with this case! It’s heart wrenching to think about what was done to these kids!
So Jillian whose side are you on anyway? You don’t sound to convincing. For the record I graduated over 20 years ago from Mahopac….did they ever get better…or did they just sweep everything under the rug? The stories I could tell! The best it never got better!
Thought it was as plain as day….....I have always been on the side of the innocent, meaning the accused, simply because they are just that-INNOCENT! The accusers knew their time working in the class was coming to an end, so they turned the tables & destroyed the lives of the children in that class, the co-workers they told stories about & the families of the accused.
MCSD has had problems for many years as you can well attest to from being a graduate. They have “swept” a lot under the rug but they cannot do so in this case. The accusers do not know what they have gotten themselves into right now, but it will soon become clear to everyone.
Anyone can see from this fiasco that MCSD does NOT properly screen their employees. If so, some of the accusers would never have been hired.
Incidently, I do not think anyone else on these blogs has had a problem discerning which side I am, & have always been on from the beginning!
I think almost all who post here are on the side of the accused. Jillian knows what she is talking about. A friend of mine had a son in that class. He wasn’t sending his son back there if the accusers were allowed to stay. He knows of other parents who also believe in the accused. Other parents are just using this fiasco for the money they hope to get from the lawsuit against the school. Obviously you never got the help you needed from the school by the way you write with incorrect grammar & spelling. So how can you be “something related to being a teacher”? Hopefully from all that’s going on with meetings & lawyers of all involved, the truth will come out & save us taxpayers from paying for a long, unnecessary trial. The accused need to be able to get on with their lives & have their names cleared from something that should have never happened in the first place.
Nick since when did you become the one that uses perfect grammar? I hope they all get charged! If the so called ones didn’t do anything then what the hell were they doing there? As someone who works with kids as soon as I see someone not doing the right thing I am out of there! My next step is to call CPS. Let me tell you if you work with children in a setting of any sort and someone is abusing a child in anyway you get treated the same way. Anyone who works with children is a mandated reporter. If you report people abusing kids you can lose everything too! Let me say thats only if you give your name. If you give your name they find you just as guilty. Basically the best thing to do is leave your job then call CPS! If I was one of these people this is what I would of done! I would of quit then called CPS, but not have given a name! Thats what would of been best for the, so called ones that didn’t do anything!
LOL, Good post, Nick! Some people just do not get it!
Sally, Can you NOT read????????? I’m telling you that the accusers made up stuff about the accused & you think I’m one of the accusers? God help those children you help teach! Yes, there was one male aide.From what my friend says, he was a great aide.The 4 accusers are all women. No, I am NOT the male aide either. I think you need to go back & read everyone’s posts. I do not think anything is sinking in with you. Not sure how Tammy looked from beginning to end but from her photos in the newspaper, she looks like a fine, normal human being. Please read more carefully
Listen my friends child is not longing for any of those people! The child said to the mother ” Mommy protect me” word for word!If anyone thought that the children were being abused they should of quit! Then they could call who ever they wanted to. The last thing I would do would be to make accusations against people you are working with. This is especially if you were going to stay working in the classroom. The other thing is that people should know that some children with autism can be highly intellegent. It can be astonishing! There were children there that when you look at them you can’t tell that there is anything wrong with them. Plus the other thing is whatever these kids do know it’s not something they can make up!
Yes, Jillian, this is definitely one big mess caused by disgruntled workers who can be compared to those many postal workers who shoot their co-workers. Ok, not as dramatic here but still very immature without concern for children & families. Very sad the way the Mahopac school system just transferred the trouble makers into other classes. Maybe they thought this would make the lawsuits go away? Who knows how they think. Mahopac USED to be an award winning school system, but maybe that was also a farce with what Sally has said. I’m just glad my children did not attend Mahopac schools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes you got it! Thats what gets me mad! No one knows for sure what happened! I think that everyone maybe should of been put on paid leave? My friends son sees the teacher he had every day! Now come on even I would feel uncomfortable! The school district could of put them on temporary leave? The other thing is CPS involved in this at all? I would think they are, but I just haven’t heard of anyone mentioniing this! Hoping for it to be over by the end of Summer or is that impossible!
By the way just thought I would share this information that I came across. I was on website where people wanted to know about the MCSD as they were planning to move here. People wrote don’t move to this district its horrible! The person said she was trying get her kids into private school in Mahopac. There is also a site by Autismvox I couldn’t believe what they wrote!
Well, in the beginning, the teacher & 3 aides were dismissed by the school. Not long after, the 4 accusers were also told to leave. So the 8 were put on paid leave from the bridge program. The accusers were eventually allowed back into the school district but split up into different classes. Not sure which classes were unlucky enough to get stuck with them. Yes, Mahopac schools have gone way down, and they have one of the highest school tax rates in PC!
Diana, Did yesterday’s court conference actually take place?
If so, anything to report?
Thanks for posting that question Jillian, I was going to ask the same thing. Hopefully something took place by now.
Didn’t see anything in the newspaper either. The accused need closure…..........terrible how long this is dragging on for them.
Thanks, Jillian and jjm, for checking in.
Diana’s off this week, and I’m “new” to the education editor slot (I was ed editor a few years ago, and just picked up the duties again recently), so it slipped through the cracks.
However, we did get word this morning that the case was adjourned, again, this time until July 8. Diana’ll be around then, so she’ll be on the case. Hopefully, it won’t be adjourned again.
What a shame, but thanks for answering the question even though it’s not what I myself wanted to hear.
No problem. Wish I could have had better news, but I truly appreciate you all keeping on top of things. This is such a busy time of year. Check back with us July 8; Diana will be checking in then and will update what’s going on.
This case has been going on forever! Are the accused still being paid by the school? How are these poor people paying for all those legal fees? Is their union paying for them?
Yes, thank you, Amy for the info. Very sad that this goes on for yet another month. Last I heard, the accusED are still being paid, as they very well should be. I really think they will be able to recoop the legal fees (and hopefully much more) from the lawsuits they have against the accusERS.
I understand the young man who was killed in a car accident the other day was one of the aides in this case husband, regardless of things going on, my sympathy to her and her children.
Yes, jjm, this is true. He was married to one of the accusers in the case. Very sad for his family, especially his children. From what I have been hearing, the couple argued & he went for a ride. Terrible tragedy…............
Diana,
Let me guess. Postponed again??????
You’re probably right Nick since we don’t hear anything in the papers anymore or on the blog.
Hi all. Well I heard from a couple of people that the case was postponed until after summer. No idea why this time it’s not next month. Maybe it has something to do with summer vacations for judges & DAs?
thanks for the update Jillian not many other types of updates on this saga.
from the law firm representing tammy card:
At the last Court conference, on July 8, 2008, the People announced their readiness for trial. Judge Jacobellis set a deadline of September 9, 2008 for the Defendants to submit all final submissions and/or motions to which the People have until October 7, 2008 to respond. The Court will hold a Conference on October 7, 2008 at which time it is anticipated that the Judge will set a trial date.
Thanks, Diana. Guess the innocent will have their holidays ruined this year.
Thanks Diana for the update. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow, particularly in the summer months. But the end is getting closer: either a trial date will be set October or the case will be dismissed.
My son is being moved out of district for his special ed, but I’m going to continue to follow this case. I learned just recently that one of the accusers was one of his aides-
one of his favorites!-and she seemed like a very competent and caring person to me.Having gone through a roughly analagous situation in another setting, I can say that the problem with situations like this is often a confusion of loyalties: who is “friends” with whom, and why. None of us are angels but the bottom line has got to be the kids, always, and their well-being.
Excellent repsonse Jillian!
Concerned, I haven’t been on here since June. Just reread some of the previous posts & it seems that on June 12th you wrote asking if the accused were still being paid by the school. You then go on to ask how are these POOR PEOPLE are paying their legal fees. NOW you write that you had a child in that class? Plus I vaguely remember someone posting in the beginning about how their lawyer was going to contact all of us posting here. Was that you also????? So, make up your mind! In following these blogs from the beginning, it has been clearly evident that the accusers & their families were posting under different pseudos. These are the ones who continually post false info.
I guess you never heard of depositions, refering to your second paragraph.
It is quite normal for a criminal case to drag on for more that one and a half years.
It is especially true, considering a new DA., in another county, had to take on the case since there was a conflict of interest with the new DA in Putnam County.
I have just read the postings from the Mahopac Bridge Program case. Until it comes up for trial, the facts are presented, and a jury makes a decision each of us is left to speculate on the outcome. We would do well to try to improve our Mahopac programs for both teachers and children. It should be a “given” that all children are taught in a positive, caring & safe environment. It should also be a “given” that the same goes for all staff as well. I mean no disrespect to anyone, however, this case is not about who does and does not have proper command of the english language, who does and does not agree or disagree. It should simply be a place where people can post a comment and not feel threatened, or belittled. It is quite clear that everyone who posted comments cares very much for the right decision to be made. Whatever the decision, it is the children who will bear the brunt of this court case as they must depend on the adults involved to “do the right thing”.
Several posts have been removed for violating the terms of service, to which everyone agrees to abide when they post. Continued violations could result in comments being removed and/or the poster being banned.
Tracey Princiotta, Interactivity Editor, LoHud.com & The Journal News
Yes, there was a conflict of interest with the Putnam DA in that he previously worked at the same firm as one of the lawyers in this case. That is why a special DA was appointed here. I do know about the depositions given to the lawyers for the school & police. A lot was learned about the accusers during same depositions. As far as I am concerned this has always been about the children having their beloved teacher & aides removed. Hopefully something will soon be decided to put an end to this tragedy & that a repeat of this never occurs again!!!!!
Tracey, I apologize for letting my comments get out of hand. Just hate to see my hard earned money being wasted here.
May the children recover and prosper.
May us parents find truth to our many questions and find peace.
May the justice system hear the children’s voices and justify.
May the silenced find courage to speak.
For all the rest God’s speed.