Disgraced Mount Vernon Mayor Asks Court To Not Allow Anyone Else To Act As Mayor Until He Leaves
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – The murky mess surrounding who is actually Mount Vernon's mayor is heating up again.
Now the city's disgraced former mayor, who is resigning over campaign finance crimes, is trying to have the courts prevent anyone else from acting as mayor until he leaves office.
Richard Thomas is calling for New York's Supreme Court to stop councilman Andre Wallace from calling himself the "acting mayor" and also stop Wallace from signing checks and contracts – as the city's mayor normally would.
The city council says Thomas is now a private citizen and has no right to intervene in government affairs.
Thomas was unanimously voted out of office earlier this month after he pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges.
Despite the Mount Vernon's city charter stating that a deposed mayor has 24 hours to leave office, Thomas has refused to clear out and claims he will stay as a lame duck until Sept. 30.
That date was worked into the outgoing mayor's plea deal with authorities, saving Thomas from facing felony charges and jail time.
The disgruntled politician has already caused more trouble for the city since his resignation, having the new police commissioner arrested for trespassing after taking his oath of office.