Sunday, January 12, 2025

Opening Doors And Pulling Some Strings.


Law Office of John J. Tormey III, Esq.
John J. Tormey III, PLLC
1636 Third Avenue, PMB 188
New York, New York  10128  USA
(212) 410-4142 (phone)
(212) 410-2380 (fax)
jtormey@optonline.net
https://www.tormey.org
 
REQUEST UNDER THE NEW YORK STATE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW (“FOIL”)

Sunday, January 12, 2025
 
To:
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL
abisola.fatade@ag.ny.gov
nysag@ag.ny.gov
Abisola Fatade, FOIL Officer and Assistant Attorney General
Records Access Office (Freedom of Information Law [FOIL])
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General (NYSOAG)
Executive Division, Department of Law
28 Liberty Street
New York, New York  10005-1400  USA

cc:
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL
James.Sheehan@ag.ny.gov
James G. Sheehan – Bureau Chief
Division of Social Justice, Charities Bureau
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General (NYSOAG)
120 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York, New York  10271  USA
 
Re: Piermont Civic Association Inc.
PO Box 454, Piermont New York 10968 USA
Date Of NYSDOS Filing: 03-05-1987
Certificate Of Incorporation File Number: B465864-5
Last “Ruling Year”: 2014
New York State Department Of State (NYSDOS) ID #: 1150250
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employer Identification Number (EIN): 80-0916072

The Village Of Piermont, New York (Currently Under NYS Comptroller “Risk Assessment”)
 
Dear Assistant Attorney General Fatade, Chief Sheehan, and Honorable Colleagues:
 
I realize that this will read as a somewhat unusual FOIL request letter. For one thing, I am herewith serving the FOIL requests upon the same New York State Attorney General's Office to which I am obviously beholden as a New York attorney. For another thing, I have below provided explanations for my FOIL requests although explanations are not strictly required of a FOIL-requester under the statute as I understand it. That said, I am providing those explanations to give context to the requests and thereby ensure it is known that my FOIL requests are neither gratuitous nor intended as overbroad. There is a small Lower Hudson River Valley village named Piermont, New York which very much needs and appreciates your careful review of the below requests and information.

As above, I am an attorney in New York, as well as a citizen and resident of the Town of Orangetown and the County of Rockland. I represent no client in this matter. My work in benefit of the residents of Piermont is pro bono. You will kindly note that copied on this FOIL request are Attorney General James, Chief Of Staff Brower, and Assistant Attorney General Aujla, to whom I issued prior correspondence regarding the Village of Piermont dated April 18, 2024, October 18, 2024, and December 6, 2024, respectively:

This letter is issued pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law, New York Public Officers Law, Article 6, Sections 84-90 (“FOIL”):
http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html
Request is hereby made that you, your colleagues, and your respective offices please provide me copies of each document and other item of material (collectively, “Records”) dated, generated, or otherwise materializing at any time from January 1, 1987 forward to the present day, which may be at all responsive to the following:
 
1. All Records Indicating The "Charitable" Or "Non-Charitable" Status Of Piermont Civic Association Inc. According to the New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) Internet website, the New York corporation known as "Piermont Civic Association Inc." was formed and filed pursuant to its March 5, 1987 Certificate of Incorporation (COI):
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-piermont-civic-association-inc.html
Piermont Civic Association Inc. is currently registered with NYSDOS as a “non-charitible”[sic] entity:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-b-piermont-civic-association.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-n-501c6-non-deductibility.html
I find that astonishing, given that, for years, Piermont Civic Association Inc. has claimed and continues to claim to operate as a Section 501(c)(3) “Charitable Organization” or “charity” under the Internal Revenue Code:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/in-piermont-civic-association-incs-own.html
for what is indicated in at least one secondary source as “Fund Raising and Fund Distribution” purposes:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/piermont-civic-association-inc-as.html
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/faqs/
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-d-taxexemptworld-read-out.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-c-guidestar-read-out.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-e-piermont-civic-association.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-f-piermont-newsletter-published.html
https://www.facebook.com/piermontcivicassociation
 
Piermont Civic Association Inc. accepts donations while warranting them to be tax-deductible by the donors:
 
The Piermont Civic Association Inc. “Board Members” are identified on the Piermont Civic Association Inc. Internet website as Joanne “Jojo” Ottaviano (President), Mary Lukens (Vice President), and Greg Barrett (Treasurer). Their biographical summaries and respective photographs are found here:
Joanne Ottaviano - President, Piermont Civic Association Inc.


Mary Lukens - Vice-President, Piermont Civic Association Inc.


Greg Barrett - Treasurer, Piermont Civic Association Inc.

Therefore:
- I am seeking all Records relating to Piermont Civic Association Inc. Specifically:
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any “CHAR500” filed by Piermont Civic Association Inc. I was not able to locate one using the search function on your agency's Internet portal.
- I am seeking all Records indicating that Piermont Civic Association Inc. is non-charitable.
- I am seeking all Records which may somehow indicate otherwise, that Piermont Civic Association Inc. is somehow a charity.
- I am seeking all Records indicating whether Piermont Civic Association Inc. is a Section 501(c)(3) charity.
- I am seeking all Records indicating whether Piermont Civic Association Inc. may instead be a Section 501(c)(6) trade association.
- I am seeking all Records indicating whether Piermont Civic Association Inc. corresponds to any other subsection of 26 U.S. Code § Section 501(c) – other than Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6).
- I am seeking all Records with, to, from, corresponding to, or otherwise referencing Joanne Ottaviano, Piermont Civic Association Inc. President.
- I am seeking all Records with, to, from, corresponding to, or otherwise referencing Mary Lukens, Piermont Civic Association Inc. Vice President.
- I am seeking all Records with, to, from, corresponding to, or otherwise referencing Greg Barrett, Piermont Civic Association Inc. Treasurer.
 
2. All Records Reflecting Any Piermont Civic Association Inc. Incoming Revenue.
After a diligent on-line search, I could locate no full-form Form 990 for Piermont Civic Association Inc., of the nature of the extremely-detailed IRS form found here (herein, “Full-Form 990”):
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990.pdf
However, I did locate a series of read-outs on the https://www.irs.gov Internet website reflecting Piermont Civic Association Inc. federal filings - of a terse and indeed minimalist Form 990-N (e-Postcard) for 2023 (hereinafter, "Short-Form 990-N"), along with prior Short-Form 990-N submissions as well for each prior calendar year in the corporation’s history dating back to 2014:
One possibly-outdated secondary source on the Internet indicates that a tax-exempt entity is not required to file the (12-page) Full-Form 990, as opposed to a (half-page) Short-Form 990-N, if its annual incoming revenue is less than US$25,000:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-d-taxexemptworld-read-out.html
The below-linked secondary source on the Internet also suggests that Piermont Civic Association Inc. only need file a Short-Form 990-N:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-c-guidestar-read-out.html
However, the current IRS website read-out for Piermont Civic Association Inc. indicates that the correct threshold dollar-figure requiring Full-Form 990 filing is instead US$50,000 as opposed to US$25,000:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
 
Even so, given the sheer amount of business which Piermont Civic Association Inc. very publicly conducts throughout each calendar year, given the sheer number of projects in which Piermont Civic Association Inc. is involved every year such as its annual summer concert series, given how many individuals donate to Piermont Civic Association Inc. each year, given how many entities donate to Piermont Civic Association Inc. each year, given how many advertisers and sponsors Piermont Civic Association Inc. claims – it strains credulity that Piermont Civic Association Inc. would have annual incoming revenue less than US$50,000 (or even less likely, annual incoming revenue under US$25,000 given the apparent prior dollar-figure threshold):
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/in-piermont-civic-association-incs-own.html
https://piermontcivicassociation.org
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/current-newsletter/
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/summer-concerts/
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/1318-2/
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-f-piermont-newsletter-published.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-k-piermont-civic-association.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-l-green-mountain-energy-grant.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-e-piermont-civic-association.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
https://www.facebook.com/piermontcivicassociation
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-d-taxexemptworld-read-out.html
 
Indeed, the Fall 2023 Piermont Newsletter published by Piermont Civic Association Inc. appears to thank no less than at least 30 “generous donors” on its last page (Page 16), depending upon how one interprets the punctuation:
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/current-newsletter/

https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-f-piermont-newsletter-published.html
The Fall 2023 Piermont Newsletter also contains advertisements - at least some of which may be paid advertisements - from no less than 25 advertisers including local financier Billy Procida who as you likely already know is closely-associated with President-elect Donald Trump:
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/realestate/donald-trumps-original-apprentice.html
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2016/03/15/piermont-financier-donald-trump-my-mentor/81822134/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advice-president-elect-donald-trump-from-his-original-billy-procida/
See, also, the below-linked “Piermont Civic Association Donation Page” on the Internet, which appears to indicate donations made to and received by Piermont Civic Association Inc. on no less than 22 separate occasions:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-m-piermont-civic-association.html

Accordingly:
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. annual incoming revenue.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any communications between or otherwise referencing any persons or entities within the Attorney General’s office regarding Piermont Civic Association Inc. annual incoming revenue - to the extent such communications are not exempt from disclosure as deliberative materials under the statute.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any communications between or otherwise referencing any persons or entities at government agencies other than NYSOAG, regarding Piermont Civic Association Inc. annual incoming revenue.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any communications between or otherwise referencing any non-government persons or entities regarding Piermont Civic Association Inc. annual incoming revenue.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any donations made to Piermont Civic Association Inc. from individuals.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any donations made to Piermont Civic Association Inc. from entities.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any grants made to Piermont Civic Association Inc. of any kind.
- To track the specific language of the NYSOAG Internet website, I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. "registrations".
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. "applications".
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. "incorporating documents".
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. “supporting materials”.
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. "annual financial reports".
- I am seeking all Records which reflect any Piermont Civic Association Inc. bylaws.
Please see:

3. Apparent Improper Use Of A Non-Profit Entity By A Village Government. The next observation would appear to be particularly clear if and assuming that Piermont Civic Association Inc. actually has annual incoming revenue greater than US$50,000 - but even if otherwise:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-e-piermont-civic-association.html
It appears that the current government officials who work in Piermont Village Hall may be improperly misusing a corporation registered as “non-charitable” with NYSDOS - while the entity is passed-off to the public to be a properly-constituted 501(c)(3) charity, and while Piermont Civic Association Inc. continues to claim that any donation made to it by an individual is permissibly deductible from the donor's federal income tax return. 
As but one example of the regularly-occurring garish confluence between Piermont village government and Piermont Civic Association Inc., during the Holidays several weeks ago, Piermont Civic Association Inc. begged Piermont residents and others on social media to fund US$10,000 worth of Christmas lights, and furnish their individual donation checks to "Piermont Village Hall" made payable to "The Village of Piermont":
The possible motives for a local village government like Piermont's using a civic association non-profit corporation to conduct what would otherwise be government transactions, may include a desire to avoid of expenditure and liability log-ins on balance sheets, ledgers, and accounting statements. The village government may engage in this charade for bond-related reasons, audit-related reasons, just for appearance’s sake, or perhaps for other reasons. After all, when the marionette-esque non-profit civic association does the spending that the village government would otherwise do, or would otherwise be required to do, it creates the artificial and misleading appearance that the village is richer and better-off than the village actually is. In that regard, the above links also chronicle why I and other Town of Orangetown residents believe that the Village of Piermont is actually in considerable economic distress.


Additionally, a local village government which devolves its required own governmental functions to a shill of a non-profit “civic association” entity, may be thereby seeking to avoid public scrutiny of its activities otherwise susceptible to FOIL. This would be akin to one of several local government motivations to use local development corporations or "LDCs".
 
Moreover, a local village government which shrouds its own actions and transactions with and through a non-profit claiming an intake of less than US$50,000 (or, previously, US$25,000) per year, may end up thereby successfully shielding those actions and transactions from other governmental agency scrutiny, including the scrutiny of NYS Comptroller Stress Monitor, Risk Assessment, and audit – not to mention the all-important public scrutiny of aware, engaged village-resident taxpaying citizens as well. After all, the Short-Form 990-N (e-Postcard) which Piermont Civic Association Inc. files every year:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
provides no detail of individual actions and transactions relative to what a Full-Form 990 would instead reveal:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990.pdf
 
In other words, I believe that Piermont village government may be using Piermont Civic Association Inc. as an impermissible beard - "impermissible", particularly while and because this Piermont-alleged “charity” remains registered only as “non-charitable” with the official New York State government record maintained and published by NYSDOS:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-b-piermont-civic-association.html
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-piermont-civic-association-inc.html
https://piermontcivicassociation.org/faqs/
Therefore:
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any connection between Piermont Civic Association Inc. on the one hand, and Piermont village government on the other hand.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any connection between Piermont Civic Association Inc. on the one hand, and Piermont Mayor Bruce Edward Tucker on the other hand.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any prior review or other examination of Piermont village government which may have occurred.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any prior review or other examination of Piermont Mayor Bruce Edward Tucker which may have occurred.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any prior review or other examination of Piermont Civic Association Inc.’s decisions year-after-year to file a Short-Form 990-N (e-Postcard) as opposed to a Full-Form 990.
 
4. Other FOIL Requests. A read-out on Piermont Civic Association Inc. generated from the Internal Revenue Service Internet website, is re-printed here:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
According to this IRS record, Piermont Civic Association Inc. once apparently suffered an “Auto-Revocation” in 2010, and was therefore placed on the IRS’s “Auto-Revocation List”. Apparently, an earlier federal tax-exempt status of Piermont Civic Association Inc. was automatically revoked in 2010 for reason of the corporation's failure to file a “Form 990-series return or notice” for three consecutive years. The "Revocation Date" was 05-15-2010. The "Revocation Posting Date" was 08-27-2014. The "Exemption Reinstatement Date" was 07-15-2014. Please see:
https://unhandpiermont.blogspot.com/2025/01/exhibit-h-internal-revenue-service-irs.html
 
Accordingly:
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any "Auto-Revocation" or other revocation of Piermont Civic Association Inc., including that indicated in the above link.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any “Posting” of any "Auto-Revocation" or other revocation of Piermont Civic Association Inc.,  including that indicated in the above link.
- I am seeking all Records reflecting any “Reinstatement” of Piermont Civic Association Inc. thereafter,  including that indicated in the above link.
- - - - -
 
Thank you. I will very much appreciate your response, as will, I expect, the residents of Piermont, New York.
 
Respectfully submitted,

John J. Tormey III, Esq.
 
additional cc's:
VIA FAX: 1-914-422-8706, U.S. MAIL, and E-MAIL:
anna.brower@ag.ny.gov
Letitia James, Attorney General
Anna Brower, Chief Of Staff
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341 USA
 
VIA FAX: 1-914-422-8706, U.S. MAIL, and E-MAIL:
andy.aujla@ag.ny.gov
Andy Aujla, Assistant Attorney General
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law
44 South Broadway
White Plains, NY 10601 USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
Jacqueline.Sanchez@ag.ny.gov
Jacqueline Sanchez
Division of Social Justice, Charities Bureau
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law
120 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York, New York  10271  USA
 
VIA U.S. MAIL and E-MAIL:
NYAG.Pressoffice@ag.ny.gov
State of New York, Office of the Attorney General
Press Office
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341 USA

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