Saratoga Springs’ Accounts Commissioner will head to trial over allegations that he failed to properly respond to Freedom of Information Law requests.
Dillon Moran, who was elected to the five-member city council in 2021, rejected a potential plea deal in city court Thursday. Now, the Democrat is headed for a bench trial in a case that stems from his alleged failure to respond to three FOIL requests made by City GOP Committee Chair Mike Brandi last spring.
The Saratoga County District Attorney’s office offered a deal to reduce the three counts of unlawful prevention of public access to records to just one instance.
“There hasn’t been any real plea offer. The offer was to plead guilty to the charge, which Mr. Moran is not going to do,” said Benjamin Hill.
Attorney Benjamin Hill is representing Moran.
“This is a very unique case. To my knowledge this provision, this section of the penal law, which is also found in the Freedom of Information Law, has never been used as it is being used here which is to prosecute someone criminally,” said Hill.
This case is the most recent in a string of legal challenges raised against city Democrats.
Former Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub is set to go to trial later this year on official misconduct charges linked to alleged incidents in December 2023 where city employees worked on his private property using city resources while on city time – what Golub’s attorney contends was no more than 15 minutes of work to unclog a drain.
Last month, Brandi filed a county ethics complaint against city supervisor Michele Madigan, who will challenge Republican Mayor John Safford in November’s election.
Brandi also successfully moved to stop the city from paying Moran’s $60,000 legal bill for a previous case stemming from a dispute over on-call pay for deputy commissioners.
Here's Moran in December:
“I don’t want to talk about any of the specifics of the accusations of the case but FOIL is an administrative law, it’s a process, Mr. Brandi has abused that process repeatedly, and in this case, he’s trying to criminalize it,” said Moran.
Brandi says the violations, which could result in up to a $250 fine or 15 days in jail per instance, are not politically motivated.
“I would like to see a resolution that makes clear to the city of Saratoga Springs, to Dillon Moran, and other public officials across the state that public information is public information. And regardless of the requester and your animus or reasons to not like the requester, you have job to do under the law and you have to do it. There’s no excuse for lying, obstructing, or concealing records that the public has the right to see,” said Brandi.
Hill questions Brandi’s motivation.
“We know that the records in question were already in the possession of this particular complainant. So, we know that the purpose of this is not to actually obtain records. The purpose of this is punitive and is for political retribution. And so, that’s my concern is that we’ve got a court system and a District Attorney’s office that’s using its resources, taxpayer dollars, for this type of case,” said Hill.
Moran's reelection bid is being challenged by Republican-endorsed Democrat Jessica Troisi.
Moran’s bench trial is set to begin June 10th.
