For years, the state-owned Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in
New York's Catskill mountains was a playground for police officers and other
“VIP” skiers who were allowed to ski for free at the discretion of Belleayre
management.
Two years ago, Belleayre came under fire for giving away
hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in free ski passes. At the time, the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the ski
mountain, explained the ticket giveaways as a promotion to attract more skiers.
But the DEC is going to have a hard time explaining this
one: Belleayre management routinely allowed and encouraged local, state and New
York City Department of Environmental Protection police officers to ski for
free.
Documents obtained by the Watershed Post show that Belleayre
management received memos from local police departments that contained lists of
their officers. (Click on the links to see the actual memos.)
One 2009 memo, from the Olive Police Department, thanked
Belleayre superintendent Tony Lanza for “complimentary skiing.” Another, sent
in 2008 by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, expressed gratitude for “any
consideration or professional courtesy” extended to officers. A memo from the
Woodstock Police Department included a list of officers “that [Belleayre
administration] requested.”
The police officer ski pass giveaways were part of a larger
free ticket program. The Watershed Post has obtained a copy of a ledger that
includes daily logs of people who received “Administrative VIP Passes” in the
2009-2010 ski season. The ledger includes the names of police officers as well
as many others who skied for free at Belleayre.
In that ski season, according to the Times-Union, the
taxpayer-supported ski center gave out nearly 16,000 free tickets, comprising
about 10 percent of its skier visits, and posted a $1 million operating loss.
“Showing their appreciation”
Under state ethics law, a state employee is not permitted to
accept gifts “under circumstances in which it could reasonably be inferred that
the gift was intended to influence him, or could reasonably be expected to
influence him, in the performance of his official duties.”
The names of 33 New York State Police officers appeared on a
2008 memo to Belleayre from Troop F, Zone 3. Attempts by the Watershed Post to
get an explanation for the memo from state police spokespeople were
unsuccessful.
Olive police commissioner Bruce La Monda, whose signature
appears on the 2009 memo to Belleayre from the Olive Police Department,
defended the practice of giving free tickets to officers and denied that any
favors were expected in return.
“They gave complimentary skiing to police departments,” he
said. “They weren't getting anything in response, not really. If they had an
emergency, Shandaken and Olive would cover it, and I guess they were showing
their appreciation.”
In addition to the NYSP and Olive memos, lists of officers
were sent to Belleayre from the New York City Department of Environmental
Protection’s Ashokan Precinct (2008-2009 and 2009-2010), police departments in
the towns of Shawangunk and Woodstock, and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.
None of these police departments responded to inquiries about the memos.