Woodstock Board Files Termination Papers for Sex Offender

Background on Michael Innello's Termination

Michael Innello, a Level 3 sex offender, has been removed from the Woodstock town employment rolls following the completion of necessary Civil Service paperwork with Ulster County. This action was taken after Town Board members submitted the required documents, which clarified that the termination process did not need to be initiated by Supervisor Bill McKenna.

Councilwoman Anula Courtis revealed that town and state lawyers informed her that the filing did not have to come from McKenna, despite his previous claims that the 3-2 vote to terminate Innello was illegal. “Apparently, we always had the authority,” she stated. “The paperwork plus the resolution equals the authority to do what the Town Board voted to do, which is to remove an employee from the town’s personnel records.”

According to information from the town Clerk’s office, McKenna, who could not be reached for comment, was aware of the filing and had followed through with removing Innello, who was working as a laborer at $21.35 per hour. “The sequence was that the Town Attorney contacted (McKenna) to inform him that the employee has been terminated and Bill’s responsibility is to communicate that to the employee,” Courtis explained.

The filing was completed at the county office with Councilman Bennet Ratcliff participating in providing information. Woodstock has had a recent history of employees filing lawsuits over disciplinary actions. Courtis noted that there is no expectation of a lawsuit from Innello, but the timely filing should prevent issues that led to other employees contesting their cases, some alleging retribution for complaints, which were mishandled by McKenna.

“This actually expedites us, our consultants, and our legal team to understand what happens next,” Courtis said. “This is not going to be…dragged out like in the past where things were left to fester and cost the town an arm and a leg,” she added. “There was a lot of discussion (among board members) about the union and grievance, but there was a refusal to file the form.”

Conviction and Hiring Process

Innello was convicted on Sept. 9, 2020, of sexual contact, and promoting and possession of a sexual performance by a child. The state registry of sex offenders notes that the victims of the convicted crimes were an 11-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman, with one of the offenses involving sexual abuse of a person incapable of consent because they were physically helpless.

Notably, the conviction information, as well as other charges that were dropped as part of a plea deal, were not provided to the Town Board in advance of a March 11 vote to hire him as a seasonal employee at $21.35 per hour or the June 10 vote on hiring him as a Grade 1 full-time laborer at the same rate of pay.

McKenna has previously claimed that board members were to blame because they never asked for background information on employees. Despite his contentions that Innello was kept away from children, there have been employees who claim this was not accurate. One summer recreation employee reported that children were nearby when Innello was filling the pool at Andy Lee Field.