Ray Canario's trial opens in Evergreen Court inspection case. Here's what happened

NEW CITY - A Rockland County Court judge heard two contrasting descriptions of former Spring Valley Building Inspector Ray Canario during Monday's opening of his non-jury trial on charges of providing false information to the state concerning village inspections.

Prosecutor Michael Dugandzic argued the evidence will show that Canario knowingly made false statements in state reports from 2017 to 2019 concerning the village's tally of completed inspections and falsely reported inspections were done, including the Evergreen Court Home for Adults. Two people, including a firefighter, died in an inferno at the facility in March 2021.

The inspection reports centered on several years before the fatal fire, but the blaze kick-started the investigation into the Spring Valley Building Department. Canario, a former fire chief, battled the blaze with dozens of other volunteers who removed 112 people from the massive Lafayette Street building.

Dugandzic told Judge Kevin Russo that Canario knew the numbers he submitted in his mandated 1203 reports to the state were not accurate, accusing Canario of fraud.

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Canario's attorney, Stefanie Jordan, viewed the prosecution's scenario as rubbish. She told the judge he will hear that Canario is a hard-working longtime volunteer firefighter who has dedicated himself to the people of Spring Valley.

She noted during her cross-examination of prosecution witnesses that there were reporting mistakes and the state made errors. But she said Canario did the best he could under the circumstances of lacking proper training and working in a dysfunctional department without direction and leadership.

Months after the fatal fire on March 22, 2021, a grand jury returned charges against six people.

Canario was charged with three felony counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and three misdemeanor counts of second-degree offering a false instrument for filing.

Russo recently dismissed the same charges — after hearing from some of the same witnesses appearing in Canario's trial — against former Building Inspector and Public Works Director Wayne Ballard. Russo dismissed the case against Ballard, finding the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove Ballard fraudulently filed false information.

Rockland District Attorney Thomas Walsh's office also plea bargained dismissals with two people, who went on to testify before the grand jury for the prosecution.

Two rabbis, Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer, face multiple felony charges accusing them of starting the fire by using a 20-pound propane blowtorch to kosherize the facility's kitchen and ovens for Passover. They are accused of causing the death of firefighter Jared Lloyd, 34, the father of two boys, and Oliver Hueston, 79, who has three sons.

The father-son rabbis have pleaded not guilty. Their next court appearance is scheduled for April 18. Walsh's office has declined comment on what's next in the prosecution.

Prosecutors present their case

Dugandzic and fellow prosecutor Ryan Sweeney called two state oversight officials with the New York State Department of State to the witness stand: code compliance specialist Ronald Stark and John Addario, the director of Buildings, Standards Code.

Dugandzic tried to use the testimony to show Canario's numbers of buildings and inspections could never reasonably be accurate. Many buildings in Spring Valley went uninspected, Some were due for annual inspections while others were due for inspections every three years.

Canario's report numbers clashed with those submitted — sometimes in the same year — filed by Deputy Building Inspector Manny Carmona, who is scheduled to testify before Russo. The Building Department needed to correct its early reports.

Spring Valley's Building Department had been so dysfunctional the state assigned a monitor to watch and advise on administrative reporting, not inspections. Spring Valley at the time was the lone municipality with a monitor, though Ramapo Building Department had one as well.

The state assigned Rockland County government to take over the village's Building Department in 2021, despite a state monitor assigned to the department who was supposed to provide guidance.

Canario attorney cross examines prosecution witnesses

In Jordan's cross-examination questioning of Stark and Addario, they testified they had limited contact with the monitor, Ericka Kreiger, even though the village had inspection problems and 2017 filed its first report since 2012. Stark, who once led training programs, said he didn't know if Canario has been properly trained and attended training sessions.

Building Department leadership and for years the lack of personnel have made meeting inspection goals impossible. Mayor Alan Simon moved Canario from Public Works Department to the building department. Simon had been behind suspending several inspectors — including Carmona, fire Inspector Frank Youngman, and Chief Building Inspector Walter Booker, who also was suspended by Mayor Demeza Delhomme.

Under questioning from Jordan, Addario said despite the village's problems, he never referred Spring Valley inspectors for criminal investigation or suggested inspectors should be suspended or lose their certification.

Jordan also questioned Addario about his office working feverishly with Ballard and officials like Deputy Village Attorney Jeffrey Millman to try and enable the department to meet minimum standards, before Canario began issuing reports to the state.

Her questioning pointed to a lack of constructive oversight by Addario and the state concerning Spring Valley, then the only municipality with enough issues to have a special state monitor.

Addario's answers showed the state was concerned about the village reporting system before Canario. He said Carmona's 2017 report, for example, was not accurate or completed. The prosecution had objected to the questioning, but Russo said as the finder of fact he wanted to hear his answer.

The village filing system was a mess and its computer program failed.

"The computer system they had didn't get the job done," Addario said. "The existing database was corrupt."

Code Enforcement Officer Doug Perry, a firefighter for four decades, testified by the changing leadership in the Building Department, due to suspensions. He went from code enforcement officer to fire inspector on orders from the mayor.

He said he collected files on orders from detectives. He said he found a file that showed Evergreen Court was last inspected in 2014.

Ballard's state report indicated Evergreen Court had been inspected on April 22, 2019, based on Spring Valley Building Department records. Another record indicated no inspection, which prosecuted focused on.

Perry said the filing system was a mess, with reports done on paper, with files at one point moved to the Louis Kurtz Center from Village Hall, and placed in a faulty computer system. He said Canario did payroll and other personnel issues. Files also were piled under desks and in desk drawers.

"In truth, I didn't know who was running the show," he said, adding that at one point Jeffery Millman, the deputy attorney, was in charge of the Building Department.

Canario's bench trial before Russo is scheduled to continue Tuesday morning with the prosecution's case.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Canario denies prosecution claims of filing false reports to the state