Harrison REVIEW THE
September 30, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 40 | www.harrisonreview.com
Despite Conservative primary victory, Stout won’t campaign By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
MORE THAN A SCARE
Harrison’s Consigliere family will close down a section of Webster Avenue for their third annual haunted house to raise donations for a tragically wounded veteran. For story, see page 11. Photo courtesy Dan Consigliere
Police chief suspended pending town investigation By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer The town/village of Harrison has remained unforthcoming in light of launching an internal investigation into police Chief Anthony Marraccini, who is currently suspended with pay, according to the mayor. Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, acknowledged the indefinite suspension but said he would not comment about what had prompted the decision for
the disciplinary action until the investigation, which currently has no timeline, is complete. On Sept. 15, the Harrison Town Council assembled for a closed-door executive meeting, and on the following day, Marraccini was suspended pending an internal investigation. The immediate suspension did not require a vote by the board because it was a paid suspension. Last month, the police chief turned over business records for Coastal Construction Associ-
ates that were requested as part of an ongoing federal investigation. While the suspension does not seem to be connected to the federal investigation concerning his construction business, it is unclear what Marraccini has been suspended for. Marraccini was not initially suspended when town council members learned of the federal investigation into his construction company. The police chief has been a licensed home improvement contractor in Westchester County
since starting a company called Coastal Construction Development in 1993. In 2005, Marraccini registered the construction company to New York state as Coastal Construction Associates. Marraccini has spent $3 million over the past eight years, according to Westchester County land records, to purchase four properties in the city of Rye. In February, he purchased his most recent home at Wards Park East CHIEF continued on page 9
After a lengthy review process, Harrison Town Councilman Joe Stout has been declared the winner in the primary for the Conservative Party line. The victory means that there will now be three candidates on the Election Day ballot. However, Stout told the Review he did not plan on actively campaigning for the general election. He said he was unlikely to win as a third-party candidate, adding, “At this point, campaigning would only take votes away from the other [candidates], which wouldn’t be fair to them.” Stout, a registered Democrat, lost the Democratic primary to Chris Rodier on Sept. 13, according to unofficial results from the Westchester County Board of Elections, BOE. But he also received 30 votes on the Conservative ballot after that party’s endorsement. Republican town board candidate Rich Dionisio, who also ran for the Conservative line, ran as a write-in and received 23 votes, which was not enough to beat Stout, according to the BOE’s unofficial count. Dionisio, who will run in the general election on the Republican, Independence and Working Families lines, said losing the Conservative line—and, therefore, gaining a second opponent on Election Day—does not change the way he will approach the remainder of his campaign. “I’m going to be forging ahead,” Dionisio said. “Every-
thing that I was going to do, I’m still doing. It really doesn’t change anything for me.” Dionisio told the Review he feels confident that he can get enough support from Conservative voters in the general election for it to bolster his chances. There are about 325 registered Conservatives in Harrison; at least 53 of them voted in the primary. By comparison, 406 of about 5,300 registered Harrison Democrats voted in that party’s primary. A Democrat has not been elected to the town board since 2009, when then-Mayor Joan Walsh was re-elected over then-police Chief David Hall. In the 2015 town board elections, all three Republican candidates swept their Democrat counterparts. All three of this year’s candidates will run to fulfill a one-year term remaining from Joe Canella’s unexpired term. Canella, a Republican, was elected to the town board in 2013, but vacated the seat in January 2016 to become a town judge. In January, the all-Republican town board appointed Stout to replace Canella until the Nov. 8 election. CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com
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