On May 12, 2022, the Village of Manorhaven Board of Ethics conducted a hearing to determine whether trustee John Popeleski had violated Code of Ethics sections 7-4 (Use of Village position for personal or private gain), 7-17 (Gifts, tips, and other benefits) and 7-19 (Particular matter disclosure). According to the Village of Manorhaven Board of Ethics, Popeleski has been “receiving rent-free use of garage space at a property owned by an applicant for approval by the Board of Trustees of a tree removal application; participating in the discussions, deliberations and vote to approve the tree removal application; and failing to truthfully disclose the pertinent facts and circumstances.”
On June 1, 2022, the Board of Ethics unanimously ruled that Popeleski violated the Village Ethics Code and must pay the village a civil fine of $5,000.
Below is a statement from Popeleski regarding the Ethics Committee decision:
“The moment I announced my candidacy for mayor was when Jim Avena and Gerard Terry began their mission to try to eliminate me from the mayoral race.
What I thought was a generous offer from Jim Avena to park in his brother-in-law’s garage turned out to be part of an intricate scheme. Avena’s Ethics Board is a prejudicial board of friends he appointed when he was elected mayor. He has misused his office and exerted illegal influence on that board. When the board reconvened, they dismissed the court stenographer so there would be no public record.
Avena failed to mention that he lives in a Dejana home rent-free, is still on the Dejana payroll, and the trees in question were unanimously accepted by the Village Board with or without my vote. Anyone who interferes with Avena’s agenda is eliminated. This included our very capable Building Superintendent, who put a stop-work order on a Dejana project and was fired. Because he was wrongly terminated by the mayor, he received a sizable award in damages from our taxpayer dollars and has now returned to work. Look who is calling the kettle black.
This hearing has been Avena’s attempt to undermine my candidacy and an attempt to fool the public. I know Manorhaven residents are smarter than this and will make the right choice on Tuesday, June 21, to end the corruption and misuse of taxpayer dollars. I refuse to be railroaded and will dedicate myself to winning this race for the good of all Manorhaven residents.”
