Updated, 3:20 p.m. on Thursday (original story posted 5:50 a.m.):
Amid conflicting versions of a closed-door settlement, brought against Briarcliff Manor school Trustee Sal Maglietta by a fellow board member has been put on judicial ice.
The second-degree harassment complaint, lodged last May 19 by Trustee Rosella Ranno, was quietly adjourned in contemplation of dismissal this May 14 by Lewisboro Justice Marc Seedorf. Neither a conviction nor admission of guilt, an ACD, as this action is commonly known, essentially erases a charge “in furtherance of justice” and can be requested by either prosecutor or defendant.
Ranno, in an email, said that Maglietta’s lawyer, Andrew Rubin of White Plains, initiated the ACD request, approaching District Attorney Janet DiFiore’s office as the drew near. Maglietta disputes that, saying it was the district attorney’s office that approached Rubin “shortly after the complaint was filed.”
“After several offers and a considerable period of time,” Maglietta said in a statement, “I have decided to accept the offer from the Westchester DA.”
Both sides say they accepted the ACD outcome to serve the best interest of the school district.
“My reason to accept this dismissal was to spare community unnecessary embarrassment,” Maglietta said. “The exposure (via a trial) of the desperate measures by a small group of people who are single-minded about their right to control Briarcliff Manor is the source of this embarrassment.”
In an interview, Ranno said, “I truly felt that going through a trial—with all the publicity, all the nonsense in the newspapers—would be very difficult for the school district.”
Ranno, who is also vice president of the school board, noted Maglietta has abided by successive orders of protection issued by the Lewisboro as well as Briarcliff Manor courts.
In and out of his hometown for six months last year, Maglietta to stand trial there in January. But Rubin on the part of Briarcliff Manor Justice Fred Weinstein, shifting the proceeding to Lewisboro.
On election night last May 17, Ranno maintains, Maglietta pushed her arm and shoulder at after the balloting. Two days later, she filed a formal complaint with the police, leading to the charge of second-degree harassment—a violation but not a crime.
“I was never contacted by the police about this complaint,” Maglietta said, denying the allegation and saying he had not been given a chance to provide his side.
Instead, alerted by a friend, he said, Maglietta approached the on May 26.
“To the best of my knowledge, at this point, the police had already determined that this complaint would proceed through the legal process before talking to me or any witnesses that would refute this complaint,” he said.
