Evergreen Court: Wayne Ballard trial opens Tuesday concerning false inspection report
NEW CITY − Wayne Ballard's trial on accusations of filing a false inspection report opens Tuesday morning in County Court, the first trial resulting from the 2021 fatal fire at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults.
Ballard, the former chief of the Spring Valley building and public works departments, is charged with filing a false 2020 report with New York state that claimed the Evergreen Court facility had been inspected. In March 2021, a Spring Valley firefighter and an adult home resident died in a fire at the Lafayette Street adult home.
Evergreen Court Fire: Judge upholds two charges against Ballard, dismisses a third count.
Ballard seeks dismissal: Spring Valley's Ballard contends indictment charges not supported
The case against Ballard and his defense
Ballard, a former elected Clarkstown Highways superintendent, claims the Spring Valley Building Department records contained a reference to an inspection of the Evergreen Court Home for Adults, according to legal papers challenging the indictment.
New York State Public Service Commission investigators cited prosecution documents that Spring Valley officials were unable to provide inspections and other records more recent than 2016, according to a just-released report looking into water pressure issues.
During Ballard's non-jury trial, Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo will hear evidence concerning two grand jury charges accusing Ballard of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.
Russo had thrown out a third count of second-degree falsifying a business record in a May 2022 review of the indictment. Russo, who dismissed the business record count in other cases, wrote the Rockland County District Attorney's Office failed to support the charge. The judge wrote that the business record is maintained by the state, not the village, and is not controlled by Ballard.
In seeking to have the indictment dismissed, Ballard's attorney, Sanford Talkin of Manhattan, argued prosecutors failed to produce sufficient evidence that the material contained in reports to the state was inaccurate and that Ballard knew about the inaccuracy.
On March 22, 2021, flames engulfed Evergreen Court on Lafayette Street. Spring Valley Firefighter Second Lt. Jared Lloyd, 35, the father of two young boys, died when a portion of the former hotel built in 1903 building collapsed on him as he search again for more trapped residents. Lloyd and other firefighters evacuated 112 people, with resident Oliver Hueston, 79, dying.
Evergreen Court had a history of building and fire code violations dating to the 1960s at the former Bader Hotel. The violations included faulty fire suppression systems, inadequate evacuation infrastructure such as emergency lights and fire escapes, and unlicensed contractors performing plumbing and construction work.
Ballard is not accused of any role in causing the fire. Neither is Ray Canario, a former building inspector and fire chief, also facing charges of filing false reports. His case is pending.
The Evergreen Court inferno erupted hours after Rabbi Nathaniel Sommer and his son Aaron Sommer used a 20-pound blowtorch to cleanse the Evergreen Court ovens and kitchen for Passover.
Prosecutors charge the actions by the Sommers set off the fire. Both Sommers defendants pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, negligent homicide, arson, assault, and other charges and have denied acting maliciously. The assault charges cover people injured in the fire, including a firefighter.
Two other people who worked at Evergreen Court were charged. But the District Attorney's Office resolved cases against Denise Kerr, the facility's director, and former employee Manual Lema. Both received adjournments contemplating dismissal.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wayne Ballard trial: Inspection report for Evergreen Court questioned
