Wesley council denies councilor's request for independent counsel after heated public debate

The Wesley Town Council voted 6-0 to deny Councilor Joy Corteo's request that the town appoint independent counsel to represent her in litigation arising from a right-of-way dispute, the council announced after an executive session on Oct. 14.

The request had been the focus of extended public comment and sharp exchanges during the meeting. Jim Tarbox, a resident, urged the council to "vote in favor of allowing Miss Corteo to have independent representation," saying trust and fairness required the council's support. Robert Lombardo, speaking as a citizen, read court and solicitor memoranda and accused Corteo of lying under oath; he said the town ordinance on indemnification barred defense if conduct was "willful, wanton and malicious." Lombardo said excerpts of a transcript showed "she lies under oath" multiple times.

Corteo denied the accusations in council remarks during the meeting. "I misspoke at my hearing. I corrected it when I went back to court," she said, adding that she had put clarifying language on the record before a judge and that she was a human being who had been honest in court. She also said she had medical issues and that questions about her health care provider had been unfair.

Town Solicitor William Conley and other councilors debated whether the matter belonged in open session or executive session, and whether solicitor instructions about attorney-client privilege and representation had been accurate. Councilors and members of the public also differed over whether prior communications remained privileged and over whether the solicitor had appropriately handled scheduling and notice for Corteo's deposition.

After the executive session, the council reported a vote of 6-0 to deny Corteo's request and to seal the executive-session minutes. The council did not release further detail about the deliberations or any legal analysis that informed the decision. No motion text with a mover/second was provided in the public record at the meeting.

The next procedural step will be determined by the parties and their attorneys in the pending litigation. The council's action was limited to the procedural question of whether the town would appoint separate counsel for the named councilor; the council did not decide the underlying litigation at the meeting.