Pity poor Bill Reilich, chair of the Monroe County Republican Party. All Reilich wanted to do is to take a cheap swipe at soon-to-be county clerk Adam Bello and instead found himself facing a possible defamation lawsuit.
The ordeal started when Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Bello, a Democrat and the Irondequoit town supervisor, to the vacant county clerk position; the seat has been vacant since January when Republican Cheryl Dinolfo gave it up to take office as county executive. Reilich, fulfilling one of his duties as head of the county GOP, sent out a statement saying how awful Bello is, even though Republicans didn’t bother running anyone against him this past November.
But Reilich’s mud-slinging missed its intended target and hit I-Square owners Mike and Wendy Nolan instead. Reilich’s statement included a phrase, “financial woes are already apparent as I-Square is failing,” that pissed off the Nolans, who have put several millions of dollars into the development in the heart of Irondequoit. The Nolans quickly responded.
“I-Square served over 100,000 customers in 2015 and has exceeded new employee goals,” Mike Nolan wrote in a statement released on Facebook. “To refer to our business as ‘failing’ as Mr. Reilich did is a lie. To lie about the viability of a locally-owned, family business for political rhetoric is immoral and is harmful.”
Reilich could have walked back his remarks, but instead he doubled down and called in COMIDA for backup. He issued a new statement, saying that I-Square’s “apparent financial woes” are evident because it had defaulted on a tax-incentive agreement between the the Nolans, the town, the West Irondequoit school district, and COMIDA. And then COMIDA followed up with its own statement to the press Monday morning, siding with Reilich.
The agency also released a memo prepared by its attorney, Harris Beach’s Rachel Baranello Endress. The Nolans have met all of the investment and hiring benchmarks in the agreement, she wrote, but haven’t built a second required building. COMIDA confirmed it by visiting the I-Square site at 7 p.m. on Sunday night, said a memo from a COMIDA attorney.
“COMIDA is within its rights to declare this PILOT Agreement in default and to pursue any or all remedies at its discretion,” said the memo, dated March 21. And Reilich e-mailed yet another statement to the media.
“The issue I raised with I-Square was not with the developer, but rather with Adam Bello, who is abandoning them during a time of great need,” he said. “Despite appearances, the documents released by COMIDA clearly show that the project is in jeopardy and has failed to fulfill its promises to the taxpayers. It is no secret that I-Square received millions of dollars in taxpayer assistance through abatements and grants from the Town, School District, County, and State. I certainly recognize the need for that assistance given the State’s dismal business climate, but I also know that taxpayers demand accountability for their investments.
“I truly believe this project can be successful; I’m just disappointed that Adam Bello has decided to abandon them during this difficult time,” Reilich said.
But Reilich and COMIDA have already created wounds in Irondequoit. During an appearance on WXXI’s Connections on Monday, Michael Nolan said that I-Square won’t contact COMIDA, but its attorney will. The statements from Reilich and COMIDA have escalated to the point that they’re harmful to business, he said. Mike Nolan also said that they plan to file a defamation suit against Reilich for portraying I-Square as failing.
COMIDA doesn’t come off well here, either. It’s basically the economic development arm of the county and its role is to support and encourage business growth. But it’s also under Republican control, and it just turned on a popular local business to make sure that the local GOP boss doesn’t look bad. Even if I-Square isn’t complying with the terms of its agreement with COMIDA, the agency just dinged its own already rocky credibility.
What all this is really about, of course, is politics. The county clerk’s seat has become a launching pad into the county executive’s office, and Reilich and the GOP want to stifle Bello’s county career before it even starts.
Memo to P. Johnson T. Mazzullo From R. Endress (HBROC-2771281 v1)
![[UPDATED] Irondequoit Supervisor Adam Bello tapped for clerk](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/news4-1-e1755017560369.webp?resize=159%2C240&ssl=1)
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2016.
Reilich’s statements show just what a government-loving Progressive he truly is. By saying that Bello’s “abandoning” I-Square, he also suggests that projects like this only succeed with the assistance of “wise” elected benefactors. That’s his government philosphy… why, Monroe County would be in deep trouble if “his guys” weren’t on the job. (And there are certainly plenty of jobs for his guys by the way… and cushy ones at that too!)
COMIDA is basically nothing more than a money laundering conduit for political paybacks or opportunities for political coercion. It’s the perfect tool for a government-loving Progressive like Reilich. If any of these so-called “economic development” projects were truly viable, then a savvy entrepreneur would have done it himself long ago. Instead COMIDA encourages malinvestment using tax-payer dollars. So of course COMIDA offered a statement of support for their crony bed-fellow.
-Mark Coon
How small and petty. Are the jokes about the size of his hands next?
I get that sometimes politics can be a contact sport with each side trying to gain whatever advantage they can. That said, it’s hard enough owning a small business without politicians spreading rumors about your financial viability. Stuff like that has real consequences if your customers stay away or lenders start getting cold feet. The funny thing is that the Republican County Chair used to be a small business owner. I guess his years in politics have made his memories of what that’s like a little fuzzy.
I guess because the media here is Rochester is not connecting the dots here, or, worse, because they like the “titillation” story more than facts, let me answer the questions that remain unanswered…after which time you will say “Thank you Captain Obvious”
First, Reilich had an unbelievable inside source of information…the internet! Comida on their website showed what the Nolan’s were supposed to build (and did not) a 15,000 square foot three story building.
Second, that means the Nolans, who built the building knew they were in default, not one had to tell them…they built the building! Duh!
Third, as reported, but not yet analyzed, there is a new attorney for Comida beginning in January so the new attorney may not have caught up with the legal notification work yet.
Forth, street talk has been about financial problems at I Square…nothing new here, just brought to the forefront when Adam Bello was named County Clerk along with the secret internet source of the building not being built. People talked last summer about the difficulty in dealing with banks in this environment and liked and worried about I Square.
Fifth, why did Bello not act as aggressively or publicly as he did against Congel? First, time, Nolan was a newer developer not complying…and, again, using the internet and checking financial filings, it appears that the Nolans are significant political contributors to Bello! Hopefully that is a coincidence!
It is difficult to decipher the grammatically contorted, Palinesque ramblings of “Remington.” His argument seems to be that “street talk” and its cybernetic adjunct, “the Internet”, are sufficiently reliable sources to publicly defame and pillory an individual or business. Whispered allegations of connection between Nolan and Bello seem sufficient in his mind to incriminate.
The freedoms afforded by the First Amendment do not extend to deliberately and publicly causing harm without defensible proof. That behaviour is called slander, and the aggrieved party is entitled to compensation for the harm. This applies to highly visible presidential candidates, Bill Reilich, “Remington,” and to us all. We would do well to remember.
The Kettle is Black! Hey everyone the Kettle is black!
Making negative public comments about a small business can decimate said business, Remington. Clearly this news should have remained private until the business owners had the opportunity to deal with the issues. A public figure needs to keep this in mind if they plan to pursue further public positions.
Can Mr. Reilich really say all this with a straight face? Mr Bello has no official role with COMIDA. His presence or absence as Irondequoit Town Supervisor has absolutely nothing to do with this issue. “Abandoning them in their time of need” is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. This is all about sliming Mr. Bello who maybe a real contender for County Executive down the road. I think Mr. Reilich has a lot to answer for and a lot to worry about being that he is the ultimate Republican establishment type person his own party base is eating alive. That would end the gravey train that he and his comrades have ridden for over twenty years. COMIDA, LDC, Campaign Funds have all been piggy banks for him and his people. Perhaps the voters will wake up and stop reelecting this type of politician. One can only hope.