One year since a corruption complaint, Inspector General investigation into APA continues

Here’s what we know so far

By Gwendolyn Craig

One year since the state inspector general received a complaint regarding corruption at the Adirondack Park Agency, the investigation remains ongoing. Little more has been made public.

Multiple investigators were dispatched the week of Feb. 19 to the agency’s headquarters in Ray Brook and conducted interviews with staff, the Explorer learned from multiple sources, including the union representing agency employees.

APA and inspector general press officers have declined to comment. 

Rob Merrill, director of communications at the New York State Public Employees Federation, said union representatives do not know “the specific nature of the investigation” and did not have anything additional to share.

In documents released by the inspector general through the Freedom of Information Law, the Explorer learned that the investigation remains open, at least as of Sept. 19. The complaint of alleged corruption was filed Sept. 29 last year.

The Explorer has sought any investigative records related to the February visit and any conclusions to the investigation. Those records requests have been largely denied, with the office citing exceptions including:

• Records compiled for law enforcement purposes, which if disclosed, would interfere with the investigation;
• Records that would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication;
• Records that would identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation;
• Or records that would reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures. 

In the latest response to the Explorer’s appeal, Deputy Inspector General Kenneth Michaels wrote on Sept. 19 that “materials you are seeking … would interfere with that investigation because potential witnesses could review the materials.” 

However, the office has provided some limited material to the Explorer, of things it said “do not interfere with an investigation … which are in the public domain.” 

On Aug. 9, those records included the home page of the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the village of Saranac Lake’s Downtown Advisory Board.

Rachel Karp, executive director of the chamber, said she didn’t know anything about the inspector general investigation and had not been contacted. Karp inquired to the Explorer if the investigation was related to the APA’s proposal to move its headquarters from Ray Brook to Saranac Lake.

APA Executive Director Barbara Rice has proposed moving the agency to the former Paul Smith’s Power and Light Building on Main Street and erecting a second building behind it. The move has garnered staunch opposition from former APA staff, some of whom have questioned Rice’s motives for the move considering she lives in the village and her family owns a furniture business downtown.

A survey of staff that the APA provided the Explorer through a Freedom of Information Law request also showed most employees did not want to change locations. Others have praised the idea as an important downtown revitalization project.

The Explorer’s Freedom of Information Law request for the APA’s feasibility study on moving its headquarters was denied, as was its appeal. Keith McKeever, director of communications for the agency, told the Explorer on Sept. 12 that the feasibility study was not yet complete but both moving to Saranac Lake and staying in Ray Brook remain options.

In a March 27 records response to the Explorer, the inspector general’s office provided other records in the public domain including an APA press release from Jan. 19, 2023 announcing the appointment of David Plante as deputy director of regulatory programs and a screenshot of the agency’s executive team from its home page. 

The office also provided two articles by the Adirondack Explorer. One, dated Aug. 17, was about the resignation of the APA’s former counsel Chris Cooper and included updates on two environmental organizations’ lawsuits over a variance the agency issued to LS Marina on Lower Saranac Lake. The second article, published Feb. 26, was about the office’s inspectors visiting the APA. 

The APA has 54 employees and is charged with long-range planning and overseeing public and private development in the 6-million-acre park. 

The inspector general’s office has jurisdiction over all state agencies and investigates “complaints concerning allegations of corruption, fraud, criminal activity, conflicts of interest or abuse.” 

Top photo: The Adirondack Park Agency’s headquarters in Ray Brook. Photo by Gwendolyn Craig