Cobble Hill letter to klein - Special Commissioner of Investigation

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Hon. J. I. Klein -40- June 26, 2007 do the job. If all of you were serious about winning, Eddie would have asked me to help him prepare his cross of Mr. George (without violating confidentiality of course) and he would have called me to rebut Mr. George’s inevitable direct testimony perjury.” The communication abruptly ended: “If the opportunity for me to rebut…was blown” • July 2, 2006 at 10:55 p.m. – Nobile’s previous message to Rodriguez, Best, and Europe continued: “let’s not blow the f nal [sic] argument…. If you want to pluck victory from defeat, you will consult me in depth as the expert on the cover-up. With all respect, nobody I’ve spoken to has been impressed with Eddie’s [Rodriguez] performance.” Nobile then provided examples of what he considered Rodriguez’s shortcomings. He concluded the correspondence: “I could go on, but you’ve got my drift. Prove your good faith. Consult me at this final stage. Or lose a slamdunk case.” • July 3, 2006 at 1:35 p.m. – Europe responded to Nobile’s e-mail: “This will be the final communication from this office. Eddie [Rodriguez] has worked very hard on this case and while you may not be impressed by his efforts, I have been very happy with Eddie’s hard work and dedication not just on this case, but on all his cases.” Michael Best • August 30, 2006 at 9:18 p.m. – Nobile e-mailed Best to complain about the loss in the George proceeding. He wrote: “So how to explain the failed prosecution? Inadequate and incompetent preparation, blinkered and amateurish strategy, slipshod to the point of unprofessional lawyering.” Nobile noted that he would like to see SCI look at the prosecution’s file and review the transcripts. He then proposed a series of questions that should be posed to Rodriguez. He concluded the message: “In sum, a slam-dunk case was botched, so badly that questions are raised about its professionalism at best and integrity at worst.” • September 6, 2006 at 8:32 a.m. – Best forwarded the matter to Special Commissioner Condon. He indicated that he intended to inform Nobile of that action, but would not respond further.
Hon. J. I. Klein -41- June 26, 2007 The Transcripts As part of our review of the Cobble Hill matter, SCI obtained and reviewed the transcripts of the George disciplinary proceeding and compared the testimony of the witnesses to the information contained in the Scarcella report. 116 Jeffrey Slater’s Testimony Slater was a witness for the DOE at the Lennel George disciplinary proceeding. He was questioned under oath on direct examination by the OLS attorney representing the DOE and was cross-examined by George’s counsel. In his direct testimony, Slater acknowledged that, in May 2004, there was a “lot of tension and friction in the [History] department” at Cobble Hill. 117 During cross-examination, Slater acknowledged that, in February or March 2004, George questioned him and, thereafter, he signed the George letter. Slater testified that he told George the truth and that the letter reflected his true statements. Slater also confirmed that he told George that he did not see Capra change grades on the Regent’s exams and that he did not see anyone else change Regents grades. 118 Louis Scarcella’s Testimony Scarcella was a witness for the DOE at the Lennel George disciplinary proceeding. He was questioned under oath on direct examination by the OLS attorney representing the DOE and was cross-examined by George’s counsel. Scarcella acknowledged that George gave him the George letters, signed by the teachers whom the principal had questioned, before Scarcella spoke to teachers. He testified: “Mr. George gave me each individual letter, so I - - yes, I had their names.” 119 During cross examination, Scarcella acknowledged that Nobile was “very active” in his investigation. 120 Scarcella testified that he spoke with Nobile “many” times during his investigation and met with Nobile a “[n]umber of times.” 121 He admitted that he did not record each meeting on his log and the log represented the minimum number of times that Scarcella and Nobile met. 122 116 This was not in response to Nobile’s e-mail to Best. SCI already was reviewing the entire Cobble Hill matter. 117 The transcript at page 1958. 118 The transcript at pages 1959 through 1961. 119 The transcript at page 793. 120 The transcript at pages 895 and 896. 121 The transcript at page 904. 122 The transcript at page 905.
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Cobble Hill letter to klein - Special Commissioner of Investigation

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