SUNBURY - Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi has been ordered by a Columbia County judge to continue his testimony in a deposition relating to a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by fired deputy sheriffs Michael Boris and Joseph Jones against Clausi, Sheriff Chad Reiner and the county.
In an order issued Monday, Columbia County Judge Thomas James Jr. requested the deposition to be rescheduled within 20 days, at which time Clausi must answer all questions relative to Kymberley Best, described by the defense as a "critical witness" in the case.
The deposition for Clausi will continue at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Williamsport. Reiner will be deposed the same day.
The News-Item obtained a copy of the 165-page deposition containing testimony from Best and Clausi from the county prothonotary's office.
During her Sept. 27 deposition, Best, who was fired March 18 as Northumberland County chief clerk and assistant solicitor, provided testimony in which she claimed Clausi ordered the terminations of Boris and Jones, and accused the county commissioner of threatening her; that Clausi told her he served as a "bookie" and that he was connected to organized crime. Clausi denied those accusations during his abbreviated deposition Nov. 3.
Best, who has a wrongful termination and defamation lawsuit pending against Clausi and Commissioner Merle Phillips, initially represented the county in the suit filed by Jones and Boris, but now has become a witness for the plaintiffs.
Clausi started his deposition, but under the advice of the county's attorney, Michael Apfelbaum, Sunbury, and his personal lawyer, Frank Kepner, Berwick, the commissioner stopped answering questions posed by Attorney Douglas Engelman, Williamsport, that per-
tained to Best's credibility.
Engelman, who represents Jones and Boris, then filed an expedited motion to compel Clausi's testimony, which was granted by James.
Boris and Jones were fired Jan. 13, 2010, by Reiner for violating the department's computer policy by failing to secure their passwords and make sure no inappropriate material was retrieved using their passwords. Their firings came two weeks after Clausi, at a Dec. 29, 2009, commissioners' meeting, publicly said two deputy sheriffs had viewed pornographic websites on the job. He never identified the deputies.
Boris and Jones claim their terminations were the result of an investigation they were conducting into alleged criminal activity by Clausi.
In her deposition, Best said Clausi told her in casual conversation that he was a "bookie." She also claimed Clausi talked about one occasion when a person did not pay a bookie fee and was driven to Maryland in the trunk of a car and threatened with drowning if he failed to pay.
According to Best, Clausi told her that he could take care of her for 10 cents, the price of a bullet.
She also said the commissioner told her that he was a very important person and knew a lot of dangerous and powerful people.
Best said she inferred from other discussions with Clausi that he may have been involved in organized crime. "He made inferences about what he would do to people when he didn't get his own way," she said.
She claimed the terminations of Jones and Boris was never about the alleged porn viewing.
Best testified that Boris, who was the steward for the union, had clashed with Clausi over union issues. She said the commissioner "wasn't going to stop until he was rid of him, period."
The witness said Clausi was furious about the waste of time going on in the sheriff's office. "It was never about the material that was being viewed," she testified. "It was about, you know, sort of what the hell are they doing there if they're watching this porn given all this time? He would make comments about that. But he personally did not like Mr. Boris. I don't know how he felt personally about Mr. Jones. But there was a union. There was an issue between them."
Best said there was no policy that she was aware of that mandated immediate termination for viewing pornography or misuse of computers.
She testified that Judge Charles Saylor made complaints about mold in the courthouse that caused people to get sick. She claimed Clausi told Saylor he would address the complaints and have air quality tests conducted. Best said Clausi claimed the tests came back negative and everything was OK, despite courthouse employees continuing to become ill.
Best claimed Clausi "covered up" the mold issue and subjected courthouse personnel to danger while exposing them to illness.
Best said Clausi started threatening her after she threatened to expose the commissioner for the alleged fake air quality tests that were conducted.
She also accused Clausi of sexual harassment and told the attorneys she filed harassment charges against him.
Best testified that Reiner and Commissioner Frank Sawicki had concerns about determining for sure who actually viewed the pornography since deputies shared each other's computers.
Best, who said a forensic analysis was conducted on the computers in the sheriff's department by a state police expert, added, "Commissioner Clausi wanted those deputies terminated and he did speak to Sheriff Reiner in a threatening tone."
When asked by Engelman what Clausi's reputation in the community is, Best replied, "Well, it depends what community you ask. In the coal region, he has two reputations. He has one of being very kind and giving, but, you know, forceful and demanding. And he has another one of being an absolute narcissistic lunatic that will destroy people using his money and power and influence."
At his deposition, Clausi told Engelman he didn't terminate his clients.
Clausi, who said he was first informed about the pornography issue by then chief clerk Rose Marquardt, claimed an employee with the county's information technology department told him Jones and Boris were looking at pornography on the computer. But the commissioner said he didn't know for sure who was viewing pornography because he didn't see anyone sitting at the desk doing so.
After informing Sawicki about the pornography, Clausi said Sawicki requested to do an investigation. After a month and a half later went by, Clausi said he asked Sawicki about the investigation. Clausi said Sawicki told him he discussed the issue with Reiner, who claimed none of his employees viewed pornography. He said Sawicki also told him it could have been a cleaning lady who logged onto the pornographic website.
"I said that's bologna," Clausi stated. "I said we have a duty and obligation here to protect the taxpayer. We must do what's right. We're going to find out what's going on here."
A day after the discussion with Sawicki, Clausi said he went public at the commissioners' meeting about the porn-viewing scandal because he believed people were trying to "cover it up." He also claimed Sawicki attempted to silence him at the meeting.
Clausi denied ever having a conversation with Attorney Tony Matulewicz, solicitor for the sheriff's office, about wanting Boris and Jones fired.
"I don't know who was in the pornography," Clausi said. "The way I understand it, they got fired for the passwords or something. You got to ask the sheriff why they got fired."
Clausi told Engelman he had no knowledge that Jones and Boris were turning over information to federal authorities regarding his activities prior to the deputy sheriffs being terminated.
The commissioner said he had a lot of heated exchanges with Best about her not coming to work and getting her job done. But he said he held no grudge against her.
He noted Best often went to lunch with the three commissioners.
Clausi described himself during the deposition as a "very passionate man and respectable person."
Contacted Friday about the comments presented by Best in her disposition, Clausi stated, "They are trying to destroy my good reputation. Kymberley Best filed a sexual harassment complaint against me four days prior to the primary election in May and now this comes out right before the general election. But the people of Northumberland County didn't believe her and voted me back into office because they know I do a good job for them. I'm very proud of the people of Northumberland County who believe and trust me. Justice will prevail and I will continue to fight for the taxpayers."
Best, meanwhile, lost in her bid for a magisterial district judgship in Sunbury in Tuesday's election.
On Friday, Engelman said, "We're just trying to litigate the case and move forward. It was a legitimate motion to file and the judge granted it. There was no conspiracy involved with Mr. Clausi's deposition being held close to the general election. There are critical issues being presented in the depositions and some serious allegations were made by Kymberley Best."
Engelman, who will conduct the depositions in his office, said he expects the case to go to trial next year.