The candidates for Cortland County district attorney this fall have a complicated history.
They worked together for years. One fired the other after the second asked about inappropriate comments were made about women in the office, then rehired her a week later claiming a misunderstanding. The county agreed to pay her a $100,000 settlement to resign.
And now she’s back, challenging her old boss for re-election.
Elizabeth McGrath of Homer, the Democratic and Working Families party nominee and for chief assistant district attorney, vows to restore integrity and competence to the DA’s office. McGrath, a 13-year prosecutor in Bronx and later Cortland counties, cited turnover and vacancies in staffing under two-term incumbent Patrick Perfetti.
“I decided to run … (because) understand I’m concerned about the direction the office has taken … I’m concerned that the turnover rate has been sky high,” McGrath said, mentioning a limited number of attorneys in Cortland County with criminal law experience. Perfetti told legislators in December that 20 criminal cases had to be dismissed in the previous eight months of 2023.
Perfetti, via campaign spokesman Bijoy Datta, said Thursday, “I’ve worked hard to build a strong team to effectively prosecute crime and keep Cortland County families safe.”
But, he acknowledged, “Attracting and retaining staff is not easy” and still has a vacancy on his seven assistant DA positions, as well as an administrative support post.
FIRING STEMS FROM ‘MISUNDERSTANDING’
The Cortland Standard acquired, via Freedom of Information Law request, documents showing that McGrath, a senior assistant district attorney – with eight years in the Cortland County District Attorney’s Office after five with the Bronx DA’s office – was fired by her boss, Perfetti, in mid-November 2020.
But a week later, on Nov. 23, 2020, Perfetti wrote to then-County Clerk Elizabeth Larkin, regarding re-hiring his senior assistant.
“Revocation of said appointment was due to a misunderstanding by the signatory,” he wrote of the dismissal letter.
Perfetti, McGrath and then-Legislature Chairman Paul Heider, between Nov. 24 and Dec. 3, 2020, all signed a six-page agreement authorizing the $100,000 settlement. The county also would pay McGrath’s health insurance premiums through the first six months of 2021.
“This Settlement Contract is not to be construed as an admission of liability on the part of the Employer that any action they took, either jointly or severally, was unlawful or wrongful…” the agreement states. “Cortland County and the Cortland County District Attorney, agree that the Employee has been an excellent employee and professional; furthermore, they will not disparage or malign the Employee or the Employee’s job performance publicly or privately.”
The agreement also requires all parties to not discuss the settlement or the nature of McGrath’s claims. Legislature approval of the settlement was overwhelming, but not unanimous. County lawmakers voted, 13-4, to approve the agreement. Members of both parties were among the “no” votes.
McGrath submitted her resignation, as part of the agreement, on Dec. 15, 2020; Perfetti accepted. It was effective at the end of the year.
HARASSMENT ALLEGED
County records reveal few details about the case.
County records report McGrath “filed a claim for Work Place Harassment.” But asked for copies of records relating to the dispute, the county did not immediately provide the harassment claim it says McGrath filed.
McGrath said she did not file any formal or legal complaint. She said she had “asked (the county’s then-personnel director)‘How should I handle this.” But she insists she filed no formal claim that she was subjected to harassment, saying she merely sought guidance in communications with the director.
While turnover is a fact of life in county DA’s offices in New York, Cortland County has had a greater challenge than most, Perfetti said.
Newer assistant district attorneys often use the position to gain knowledge and experience, but find private work involves fewer nights – young ADAs often must cover municipal courts that meet in the evenings. Newer ADAs sometimes – but not always – lack criminal-law experience.
“I set high standards and expect a lot from those who join me in service to the public,” Perfetti said. “We owe nothing short of that to the taxpayers who fund our office and salaries.”
Younger ADAs with moderate experience can collect larger paychecks; a skilled private attorney can require a client to sign a payment-agreement or pay for services up front.
A crowded DA’s office can affect how other county departments do their jobs.
Sheriff Mark Helms said, in a December story about staffing in the DA’s office, “I want to remind everybody how much this affects the law-enforcement part,” Helms told county lawmakers. “We’re putting these folks (defendants) in positions to see what’s to be done with them. And we’re finding that the DAs office can’t keep up.”
“As district attorney, I’ve worked hard to build a strong team to effectively prosecute crime and keep Cortland County families safe, but attracting and retaining staff is not easy,” Perfetti said in his statement. “This is a common problem for D.A.’s offices, especially in smaller counties like ours and even more so after the jobs became more challenging due to Cashless Bail and Discovery ‘reform.’”
DECISION ‘NOT ABOUT THAT’
McGrath paused to consider whether her experience with the DA’s office, and the $100,000 settlement, inspired her to challenge Perfetti, then said her decision “was not about that.” She said she earned about $85,000 annually as chief assistant DA.
But, she added, that if she had not heard language she felt was improper, “I probably would have chosen to be on the sidelines right now.”
