Vecchi-oh!
07-28-2006, 08:33 AM
" ticketsMeet Tony Danza Long IslandFired employee assails water authority
BY EDEN LAIKIN AND SANDRA PEDDIE
Newsday Investigations Team
July 27, 2006, 11:12 PM EDT
Two days after he was fired for taking water samples that caused a false contamination alert on Fire Island, Patrick Vecchio Jr. Thursday blasted the Suffolk County Water Authority and said he was targeted because he is the Smithtown supervisor's son.
In a news conference in the Northport office of attorney Edward Yule, Vecchio said that in more than 13 years on the job, he had no formal training, wasn't issued gloves or given written procedures for taking drinking water samples.
"I was told to get a job done and I was fired for it," Vecchio said.
According to an authority inquiry into the incident, Vecchio, 41, was rushing to leave work and was sloppy in taking the samples in 10 Fire Island communities in early July. The samples contained E. coli, often associated with human or animal waste, and set off a false alarm that cost the authority $100,000.
Water Authority officials declined to comment on Vecchio's charges and said he had recved training and that there are written procedures for testing drinking water.
At the news conference, Vecchio said he did not rush to complete the job and that the bacteria did not come from his hands. "I didn't go to the bathroom that day," he said.
He said he was ordered to do the sampling during a heavy rain, adding that this was against his better judgment because of possible contamination.
In testimony at the inquiry July 17, Vecchio's supervisor, Michael Janovsky, contradicted Vecchio's version of events.
"I called Pat," he says in the transcript. "I said I feel sorry for you, I can't believe this rain. I said, go sit it out in the station until it's over. He said, 'It's OK, I have an umbrella.'"
Janovsky also said field operators frequently test water in the rain.
On Wednesday, Authority chairman Michael LoGrande and former Smithtown councilman Gene Cannataro said Vecchio got his job through political connections. Vecchio said his father never made a call on his behalf.
"They blamed him because he is the son of a supervisor," Yule said, but he did not offer any evidence of that. He said his client might seek whistleblower protection because Vecchio is exposing problems at the authority.
"Pat Vecchio Jr. has been wrongfully accused in a case where the real blame is on the board of directors of the Suffolk County Water Authority," Yule said. He said the authority unfairly blamed Vecchio because other people had access to the samples.
"How do they know he did it wrong and it wasn't contaminated along the chain of custody?" Yule said.
As for Vecchio's work record, which includes six accidents in authority vehicles, five warnings and three suspensions, Vecchio said he hadn't been suspended in two years.
He added that he wants his job back.
"I do a good job, I know I do," he said. "And that was taken from me."
Subscribe to Newsday home delivery | Article licensing and reprint options
SPONSORED LINKS
Email this story
Printer friendly format
Photo
Patrick Vecchio Jr. (Photo by Patrick Oehler) (Jul 27, 2006)
More Coverage
Vecchio's protection problem (Jul 27, 2006)
Long history of patronage at water authority (Jul 26, 2006)
Columnist
Dirty words about water (Jul 12, 2006)
More Coverage
Fire Island water is in the clear (Jul 11, 2006)
Still cautious about water (Jul 10, 2006)
E. coli forces water ban for Fire Island (Jul 8, 2006)
Why contamination happened and what to do (Jul 8, 2006)
BY EDEN LAIKIN AND SANDRA PEDDIE
Newsday Investigations Team
July 27, 2006, 11:12 PM EDT
Two days after he was fired for taking water samples that caused a false contamination alert on Fire Island, Patrick Vecchio Jr. Thursday blasted the Suffolk County Water Authority and said he was targeted because he is the Smithtown supervisor's son.
In a news conference in the Northport office of attorney Edward Yule, Vecchio said that in more than 13 years on the job, he had no formal training, wasn't issued gloves or given written procedures for taking drinking water samples.
"I was told to get a job done and I was fired for it," Vecchio said.
According to an authority inquiry into the incident, Vecchio, 41, was rushing to leave work and was sloppy in taking the samples in 10 Fire Island communities in early July. The samples contained E. coli, often associated with human or animal waste, and set off a false alarm that cost the authority $100,000.
Water Authority officials declined to comment on Vecchio's charges and said he had recved training and that there are written procedures for testing drinking water.
At the news conference, Vecchio said he did not rush to complete the job and that the bacteria did not come from his hands. "I didn't go to the bathroom that day," he said.
He said he was ordered to do the sampling during a heavy rain, adding that this was against his better judgment because of possible contamination.
In testimony at the inquiry July 17, Vecchio's supervisor, Michael Janovsky, contradicted Vecchio's version of events.
"I called Pat," he says in the transcript. "I said I feel sorry for you, I can't believe this rain. I said, go sit it out in the station until it's over. He said, 'It's OK, I have an umbrella.'"
Janovsky also said field operators frequently test water in the rain.
On Wednesday, Authority chairman Michael LoGrande and former Smithtown councilman Gene Cannataro said Vecchio got his job through political connections. Vecchio said his father never made a call on his behalf.
"They blamed him because he is the son of a supervisor," Yule said, but he did not offer any evidence of that. He said his client might seek whistleblower protection because Vecchio is exposing problems at the authority.
"Pat Vecchio Jr. has been wrongfully accused in a case where the real blame is on the board of directors of the Suffolk County Water Authority," Yule said. He said the authority unfairly blamed Vecchio because other people had access to the samples.
"How do they know he did it wrong and it wasn't contaminated along the chain of custody?" Yule said.
As for Vecchio's work record, which includes six accidents in authority vehicles, five warnings and three suspensions, Vecchio said he hadn't been suspended in two years.
He added that he wants his job back.
"I do a good job, I know I do," he said. "And that was taken from me."
Subscribe to Newsday home delivery | Article licensing and reprint options
SPONSORED LINKS
Email this story
Printer friendly format
Photo
Patrick Vecchio Jr. (Photo by Patrick Oehler) (Jul 27, 2006)
More Coverage
Vecchio's protection problem (Jul 27, 2006)
Long history of patronage at water authority (Jul 26, 2006)
Columnist
Dirty words about water (Jul 12, 2006)
More Coverage
Fire Island water is in the clear (Jul 11, 2006)
Still cautious about water (Jul 10, 2006)
E. coli forces water ban for Fire Island (Jul 8, 2006)
Why contamination happened and what to do (Jul 8, 2006)