A petition to remove Jessica Zambrano as supervisor of the town of Cicero has been dismissed.
Paul Becallo, father of Cicero Town Councilor Michael Becallo, filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Fourth Department of New York state on Feb. 10 requesting that Zambrano be removed as town supervisor under New York State Public Officers Law Section 36.
Becallo cited Zambrano’s relationship with former town engineer Douglas Wickman, to whom she is now married, as well as the Cicero Board of Ethics’ decision calling the relationship a conflict of interest.
The Appellate Division heard the case in September and issued its decision last week.
“’Public Officers Law Section 36 was enacted to enable a town … to rid itself of an unfaithful or dishonest public official,’” the decision reads, quoting a previous decision of the same court, “and petitioner has failed to establish that respondent is either unfaithful or dishonest in the performance of her duties as town supervisor. “‘[T]he petition does not set forth a single act of unscrupulous conduct or intentional wrongdoing, let alone evidence of any gross dereliction of duties or a pattern of misconduct.’ We therefore dismiss the petition.”
The full decision is available at nycourts.gov/courts/ad4/clerk/decisions/2015/10-02-15/PDF/0933.pdf.
Zambrano’s term as supervisor expires at the end of this year. She is not seeking re-election.
