Town of Greece subpoenas town board member in unusual twist

A Greece town board member is in an unusual spot: The contents of his cellphone have been subpoenaed, by attorneys for — get this — the Town of Greece.

Court records show that town-hired lawyers subpoenaed the phone of Greece Councilman William Murphy. They first asked for permission to examine the phone's contents, were denied, then followed up with a subpoena.

The strange turn of legal events is the offspring of the federal lawsuit filed by former Greece Deputy Commissioner of Public Works Robert "Bobby" Johnson, who alleges he worked thousands of hours of unpaid overtime for Town Supervisor Bill Reilich and others in the town.

The oddities don't stop there: The town lawyers also have asked the law firm representing Johnson to place what is called a "litigation hold" on the cellphone of Johnson's attorney, Maureen Bass. Such a hold is designed to ensure no information is purged from the phone.

Bass may be "in possession of relevant and material information" outside the boundaries of attorney-client privilege, the town's attorney, Albany-based lawyer Karl Sleight, wrote in a court filing.

Murphy, in his role as a board member, could have information that should not be shared with lawyers suing the town, the lawyers for Greece contend.

Differing claims over what Murphy did

Murphy "was interviewed in that capacity as part of the Town’s litigation preparation, during which time he advised he uses his cellphone for Town business and for other matters relevant and material to the litigation," Sleight wrote in court-filed correspondence. "He also advised ... that he communicated with Ms. Bass regarding this matter.

"As a result, my office requested to image and search Councilman Murphy’s cellular device for information material and relevant to this litigation, including for purposes of investigating his comment relative to having communicated with opposing counsel."

However, Bass fired back on Friday with a response that she has not communicated with Murphy about the case. Murphy provided an affidavit saying he has never communicated with Bass "about this matter or anything else."

Attorneys for Murphy say in court papers that he thinks "the service of a subpoena upon him is nothing more than a fishing expedition intended to intimidate and harass him."

Murphy agreed to have his phone imaged because he cannot "afford a costly legal battle with the Town of Greece over the propriety of the subpoena," his lawyers wrote.

A forensic "imaging" of a cellphone allows the contents to be searched with specific key words and terms. Those terms have yet to be determined.

Sleight declined to comment, as did Bass. Murphy did not return a call for comment.

Claims of unpaid work

In his lawsuit, Johnson alleged that he was forced to do thousands of hours of odd jobs for Reilich and then-Deputy Town Supervisor Marini.

Attorneys for the town maintain in court papers that the lawsuit is, at its core, an argument over fair hours and wages, while Johnson's lawyers have portrayed it as part of a larger swath of town corruption.

Marini late last year sold her house and moved out of Greece. She came to the town administration in 2014; she previously worked as the chief of staff to Reilich when he was in the state Assembly.

Marini left the job of deputy supervisor after moving from Greece.

At a December meeting the town board created a position of director of constituent services, a job now filled by Marini.

All on the town board approved the job's creation except one — William Murphy.

Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Town of Greece NY subpoenas town board member in unusual twist