Village of Chittenango
/ Jim Kenyon
Vince Rogowski feels the Village of Chittenango has engaged in "fraud" by issuing tickets for disorderly conduct instead of speeding violations.
Rogowski says he was stopped by a Chittenango police officer for driving too fast on Route 13 on January 10th. He said the officer was "friendly" and said "he was doing me a favor" when he was issued a ticket for disorderly conduct. He says the officer explained that such a ticket would not appear on his driving record and would avoid paying a surcharge to the State Department of Motor Vehicles.
After pleading guilty and sending the ticket to the Chittenango Village Court, Rogowski said he paid a fine of $125.00. Rogowski says he now wishes he had been given a speeding ticket, because he's afraid a disorderly conduct violation would appear on his criminal record. He has since learned that four of his co-workers have received similar tickets. Rogowski calls it a "scam" designed to deny the DMV a surcharge.
Chittenango Police Chief Jeffrey Paul disagrees. Paul could not say how many disorderly conduct tickets are issued instead of speeding tickets. He compares the practice to a "roadside reduction" in which an officer has the ability to ticket a speeding motorist for a reduced charge like a parking violation. "This is not an attempt to circumvent anything." Paul told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon, "If you're driving unsafe, you'll either get a ticket or a lecture."
According to Chittenango Village records, the disorderly conduct law was enacted in 1989. Under "Disorderly operation of motor vehicles", it states: "No person shall operate a motor vehicle, as defined in the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York ... in such a manner as to cause or create a disturbance of cause alarm or fear for the safety of persons or property or to unreasonably disturb the peace and quiet of any person or persons in the Village of Chittenango."
The offense constitutes a violation and could carry a $250 fine or 15 days imprisonment or both. It places the motor vehicle infraction in the same category as defacing public property, fighting and crude or obscene behavior.
A spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles says the department was unaware of such a provision among village governments. The DMV collects a surcharge of $80 for speeding tickets and $50 for equipment violations. Those surcharges amounted to nearly $200 million in revenue for the state in 2010.
Speaking for the New York State Comptroller's Office, Kate Gurnett said, "this specific practice has not come to our attention...We haven't ever citied a municipality for the practice, although we are aware of plea bargaining practices that often reduce speeding charges to parking-related charges."
