Vince Tria, 78, was dismissed as president of the BID Management Association board of directors while Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter was calling for "a new direction" for the BID, which collects money from downtown businesses to fund events and promotions.
"It's been floundering under its current leadership," Mr. Walter said after the Town Board's actions last Tuesday.
Mr. Tria filed a notice of claim, which reserves the right to file a lawsuit later, on Monday, charging Town Board members issued his dismissal as a retaliatory measure against him. The documents say that his East Main Street radio station, WRIV, "has regularly reported on community concerns and has aired programs wherein residents criticize" Town Board members.
The claim further states that the retaliation also came in part because Mr. Tria helped expose ties between "criminal elements" and "certain officials."
Mr. Tria was one of three BID board members replaced by the Town Board in a 4-0 vote. Councilman John Dunleavy was absent and was not named as a defendant in the notice of claim, which listed the remaining four Town Board members both individually and in their capacity as town officials.
In addition to Mr. Tria, who had served as president since August and had been a board member for several years prior to that -- as well as a member of the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall and Riverhead Blues Festival boards -- the Town Board removed BID board of directors members Ed Tuccio and Tim Griffing. The Town Board then appointed Martin Sendlewski, Ed Densieski and Anthony Coates to assume their seats.
Mr. Tria confirmed to a reporter that he is also contesting his removal from the BID.
"I am the president of the BID and I will remain so until my term expires and someone else is elected by the BID," he said, though he declined to comment on the details contained in the 3-page document obtained by the News-Review.
The newly appointed Mr. Coates said Mr. Tria even presided over a meeting the day after the Town Board voted him off the BID.
The notice of claim, filed in the town clerk's office, alleges that the Town Board "concocted a scheme in order to remove [Mr. Tria] from his position as president of the BID as well as to publicly embarrass and humiliate him." Town Board members "feared that [Mr. Tria] was a whistle-blower as to improprieties in Town Hall and allowed his radio station to air citizen complaints about" the town, it states.
It also asserts that "the real reason and motive of [the Town Board] for the termination of Tria was his exposure of problems within the town, including lack of efficiency and effectiveness of town officials as well as the ties of certain officials to certain criminal elements, including alleged members of the sand mine, garbage and asphalt cartels as well as alleged 'Crookhaven' interests."
It was not clear when those alleged "exposures" were made, or whether they were made through the radio station, or by Mr. Tria, or both.
Mr. Tria's notice also said his dismissal from the BID violates the group's bylaws.
Town officials disagree.
Mr. Walter said the Town Board has the authority to appoint and dismiss BID directors as it sees fit.
"This is another frivolous lawsuit that is going to cost the taxpayers money to defend," Mr. Walter said. "I find it hard to believe he is aggrieved $10 million. Nobody said anything negative about him. We just determined that we wanted different members."
BID directors are appointed at will and have no terms, he insisted.
As for the $10 million, Mr. Tria claimed in the documents that he has "sustained pecuniary damage, emotional distress and special damages," and that "he will be unable to pursue business and professional opportunities based on the harm to his reputation."