Ex-Greece employee sues Bill Reilich, town over unpaid labor allegations
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A former Town of Greece worker, who was employed by the town for 36 years, alleges in a lawsuit that he worked "thousands of hours of unpaid labor" for Greece Supervisor Bill Reilich and town Deputy Supervisor Michelle Marini.
Robert "Bobby" Johnson alleges in the federal lawsuit that his Reilich-ordered chores included maintenance and repairs of vintage cars that Reilich buys and sells; maintenance at the homes of Reilich and Marini; work on Reilich's and other GOP campaigns; and moving town property to Marini's garage.
"Bill Reilich and Michelle Marini orchestrated this unprecedented abuse of power from defining the work to devising schemes to conceal the wrongdoing," Johnson, the former town deputy commissioner of public works, alleges.
In the lawsuit, Johnson alleges that he decided to retire after Reilich became worried that the Monroe County District Attorney's Office would learn of the labor during its investigation into the drunken driving crash of former town Police Chief Andrew Forsythe.
"Bill Reilich told Bobby Johnson that he had a 'bad dream' that during Bobby Johnson’s interview (about the crash), the District Attorney’s Office would discover Bobby Johnson’s forced labor and the schemes devised by Bill Reilich and Michelle Marini to conceal it," the lawsuit alleges. Reilich allegedly told Johnson to lie if he was asked.
In a response, Reilich and Marini sent this statement: "Although the Town has not yet been formally served with a complaint, we are aware of the allegations levied by Robert Johnson. The Town looks forward to vigorously defending against this lawsuit in a court of law. This administration is dedicated to serving this community, and this lawsuit will not distract us from our focus on providing for the residents and businesses in the Town of Greece."
Johnson also alleges that he was denied post-retirement health benefits that he was due, and told he would receive, because he would not continue work for Reilich and Marini after his retirement. As well as Reilich, Marini and the town, Johnson is also suing Personnel Director Keith Suhr and Public Works Commissioner Kirk Morris.
Johnson's attorney, Maureen Bass, said there are text messages and photographs that support the lawsuit allegations. "He's got hundreds of date-stamped pictures of the work" on Reilich's cars, she said.
Reilich maintains property at Swamp Road in Sweden where he upgrades cars and sells them. The property, the lawsuit states, is commonly known as "Hot Rod Ranch" or simply the "Ranch."
The lawsuit contains some similar allegations to a political scandal from more than a decade ago when county workers admitted that they had done work at the homes and political campaigns for local Republicans while being paid by Monroe County. Reilich was then GOP chairman and an annual pig roast he hosted was one of the events that county workers attended while being paid by taxpayers, according to allegations from the FBI.
There were no allegations that Reilich was aware that county employees who were being paid were in attendance. No elected officials were charged in connection with the scandal, commonly called "Robutrad," which was an operation created by unions to provide trades workers to the county for jobs.
As chairman, Reilich released some GOP committee staffers who were suspected of wrongdoing with the scandal.
— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "The Prison Guard's Daughter."
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bill Reilich, Greece NY sued by ex-town employee over unpaid labor
