Mayor Jack M. Martins was outraged after finding out that Village Trustees Linda Fairgrieve and Paul Cusato met with Nassau Police Commissioner Jim Lawrence about the village's police department idea without the mayor's or Trustees Larry Werther and John DaVanzo's knowledge. Mayor Martins called it a betrayal while Fairgrieve and Cusato said they were on a "fact finding" mission.

Mayor Martins and the village board have been exploring the idea of the village having its own police department. Mayor Martins has maintained that he wanted the process of studying the idea to be open. So far, two public hearings have been held and the report issued by the police task force has been mailed to every mailing address in Mineola.

After the task force report became available, Mayor Martins sent a copy to the Nassau County Police and has maintained that he wants input from the county police. At the first hearing, then 3rd Precinct Inspector Lorraine Hannon attended and at the second hearing, current inspector Robert Turk attended. According to Mayor Martins, anyone is welcome to come to the village police hearings and comment on the report including Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence. When the mayor found out that two of the trustees on the board sent a letter and met with Lawrence without his or the other two trustees' knowledge, he said he was appalled as were Werther and DaVanzo.

"I've been an elected official for 37 years. In those 37 years, I have never experienced this type of situation. It's sad and it's unethical," said DaVanzo.

Meanwhile Fairgrieve and Cusato maintain that they didn't do anything wrong by trying to gather information on what will be a difficult decision on whether the village should institute its own police department. "I felt I did the right thing. The end result is we got a response and more information to look at," Fairgrieve said.

However, Mayor Martins and DaVanzo and Werther as well as numerous residents who packed Wednesday night's village board meeting felt the mayor and the trustees should have met with the commissioner as a board in front of the public so the entire board and public could be privy to the commissioner's information.

Fairgrieve and Cusato sent a letter dated Dec. 28, 2005 asking Lawrence for an official response from the Nassau County Police Department regarding the finding contained in the task force report. Lawrence issued a response, dated Jan. 13 and asked to meet with Fairgrieve and Cusato. On Jan. 17, the two trustees met with the commissioner for about an hour and a half. The meeting took place a day before the village's second police hearing on Jan. 18.

Mineola resident Jim Bartscherer, who is also a Nassau County police officer, called Trustee DaVanzo to ask if DaVanzo would be willing to meet with the commissioner. However, DaVanzo said he would not meet with the commissioner unless the mayor and the rest of the board were also present.

Mayor Martins and Trustees DaVanzo and Werther feel that Trustees Fairgrieve and Cusato acted inappropriately by meeting with Lawrence without the presence of the rest of the board or even the knowledge of the rest of the board.

"Everything we've done so far, whether it's a hearing, discussing the police department or anything else has been done here in the open," Mayor Martins said. "The one thing I've always insisted on is that we do things out in the open and we do not sneak around people's backs. What is most troubling to me is the position that was taken by members of this board to meet with the commissioner privately without anyone else knowing."

Cusato said he and Fairgrieve met with the commissioner to gather information. Cusato said he had specific concerns with regard to whether the county would provide mutual aid to a village police department. "The residents voted for me and my job is to make sure all the residents get the right information," he said.

However, Werther questioned the motive of meeting with the commissioner without the other members of the board or the mayor's knowledge. "The only thing you [Cusato and Fairgrieve] wanted to do was scare the people out of getting a police department. We're doing everything out in the open. It's not the fact that you needed information from the commissioner, it's the fact that you did it behind our backs," he said.

Fairgrieve said she just wants to make sure the numbers arrived at by the village's police task force are right and the more eyes looking at the report, the better.

Mayor Martins maintains he has no problem meeting with the commissioner and getting his input and even has said if the commissioner wants to address the village's police task force report, the forum is his. But the mayor has also maintained that the board and the residents should hear the commissioner's position. "I do see it as a betrayal. We work as a board. The fact that you don't see that is very disturbing to me,' Mayor Martins told Cusato and Fairgrieve.