CDR chief ordered to “cease and desist” after confrontation with county lawyer

Posted at: 07/29/2010 11:37 AM | Updated at: 07/29/2010 6:39 PM
By: Berkeley Brean | WHEC.com

The fight between the Center for Disability Rights and Monroe County has taken another twist.

CDR Executive Director Bruce Darling has been ordered to “cease and desist from engaging in any further acts of harassment” toward a county attorney and all county employees or officers.

News 10NBC obtained the order and an attached letter today — click here to read the document.

The order warns Darling that “any further communication or harassment directed toward any County employee or officer will be viewed as acts of continued harassment that will not be tolerated. Any further such acts will be reported to the appropriate authorities.”

The order was drawn up after an incident outside the County Office Building Tuesday night. In a letter attached to the order, Second Deputy County Attorney Richard Marchese accuses Darling of “accosting” him as Marchese left the County Office Building. Marchese writes, “your behavior in confronting me, shouting out my name and riling up the crowd that had gathered was entirely unprofessional, uncalled for, and potentially dangerous not only to myself, but to all of the others on Irving Place — some of whom were in wheelchairs.” Then Marchese accuses Darling of having been drinking alcohol. He writes, “the fact that you had been drinking was obvious from the smell on your breath.”

Early this afternoon, the attorney representing the Center for Disability Rights responsed to the letter. Click here to read it.

In the letter, attorney for CDR Matthew Fusco says Mr. Marchese “stepped off the curb into the street in order to get away from the demonstrators in wheelchairs.” The letter says Mr. Darling saw this happen while a car was coming and “pushed Mr. Marchese out of the way trying to get him back on the curb so that he would not be injured.” The letter says Mr. Darling’s actions were “misinterpreted.”

As far as the alcohol allegation is concerned, the letter states that Mr. Darling is a diabetic and because of the stress of the last week has “not been eating properly” or taking his medication. “One of the common symptoms of diabetics having problems with maintaining their blood sugar is a sweet smell on their breath which is frequently confused for alcohol. One of Mr. Marchese’s assumptions that Mr. Darling had been drinking is just one more incident of the County’s ignorance of the problems encountered by people with disabilities” the letter states.

The letter says Mr. Darling rarely if ever drinks.

As far as Mr. Darling’s actions with Mr. Marchese on the street, the letter concludes “in the future, should (Mr. Marchese) walk out into traffic we will do nothing to impede his progress.”

CDR and the county are involved in a heated battle ever since the county cut its $15 million contract with CDR as a CDPAP vendor. In laymen’s terms, CDR provided in-home care to people paid for through Medicaid. The contract made up 49% of CDR’s annual budget. In an interview yesterday, Darling said “if the county executive has been told we committed Medicaid fraud she’s gotten erroneous information. If she was told we neglected clients, the clients are saying that’s erroneous information. So I would expect that if you’re making decisions on erroneous information that you would think twice about that decision and at least meet with the people to talk it through.”

The county says they cut the contract with CDR because of “a pattern of long term behavior where CDR did not put the safety of its clients first.”

In the letter obtained today, attorney Marchese writes Darling, “I understand that you are disappointed in the decision to remove CDR as a CDPAP vendor, but that decision is final… Good day.”

News 10NBC has contacted CDR for comment. Chief Operating Officer Chris Hilderbrand called the drinking allegation “wildly false” and the rest of the letter “exaggerated.” Hilderbrand says lawyers at CDR are working on an official response. We asked to speak to Bruce Darling directly.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.