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In April 2018, a lawsuit was filed in federal court against Kelly and 22 others in a “broad conspiracy to defraud the city, during a time that encompassed a period of years when Kelly was not even employed by the city,” the former commissioner announced on Wednesday, July 31 after the charges against him were dismissed.
Kelly stated that attorneys for Thomas asked to have the lawsuit withdrawn after they failed to comply with providing any discovery materials to support their claims.
The former commissioner called the lawsuit “a punitive political measure spearheaded by Thomas seeking revenge against Kelly. Thomas could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was not coincidental that the lawsuit followed Kelly’s termination as police commissioner after he refused to reinstate Thomas’ brother as a city firefighter who had been convicted of selling illegal guns to the FBI,” a spokesperson for Kelly stated. “The lawsuit was designed to punish Kelly for not hiring the former mayor’s convicted brother back as a firefighter.”
The dismissed charges come on the heels of nearly a month of mayhem at Mount Vernon City Hall, as Thomas and former City Council President Andre Wallace go back-and-forth about which of the two should be sitting in the mayor’s seat.
On Monday, July 8, Thomas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor corruption charges prompting the City Council to vote on legislation two days later to remove him from office and instead place Wallace in his stead.
Since then, the two have been back-and-forth as they battle for the mayor’s seat. On Friday, July 19, Thomas allegedly received his final paycheck - which was only a partial check - while Wallace earned a full check.
“Unfortunately, serving as mayor with honesty and integrity was too big a job for a small-minded man like Richard Thomas,” Kelly, who represented himself in the case, said after the dismissal. He noted that “the attorney representing the City of Mount Vernon acted unethically and unprofessionally in violation of federal rules and was dishonest in his representations to federal court with regard to this lawsuit.
Kelly noted that he plans to pursue further action against attorney Frank Acocella with the New York State Bar Association.
“Among other things, on its’ webpage the Acocella Law Group touts itself as handling simple residential closings, which begs the question why Richard Thomas drafted this law firm to handle a purported complex multi-million-dollar conspiracy case,” Kelly questioned. “Public disclosure of campaign donations to the Thomas campaign provides a clue.”
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