Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
DA: Indictment likely today in Raucci case
Defense attorney questions validity of recordings
BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter

    Notice is expected to be given today that Steve Raucci, the suspended city schools facilities director and an alleged arsonist, has been indicted, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said Wednesday.
    But details of that indictment are expected to remain sealed for some time, Carney said, as the larger investigation into Raucci’s alleged acts continues.
    “In this case, it could be a while,” Carney said. “We want to hand up one indictment rather than several.”
    Also Wednesday, Raucci’s attorney, Steve Kouray, defended his client against the accusation, saying Raucci never did anything illegal.
    Kouray also questioned recordings prosecutors say they have of Raucci. Prosecutor Ed Moynihan read selected excerpts of recordings in court this week. When and how the recordings were allegedly taken was not revealed, Kouray said.
    Carney declined to comment on the recordings Wednesday but Kouray paraphrased the excerpts read in court as referencing things Raucci had gotten away with and saying someone would be through if Raucci was crossed.
    “That’s tough guy talk, that’s all it is,” Kouray said.
    Kouray, however, said he hasn’t heard the entire recording in context. “They haven’t told me a thing other than what I heard in court.”
    Raucci is expected to appear in Rotterdam Town Court this afternoon on the initial first-degree arson charge. It is at that appearance that the indictment notice would be given, Carney said.
    Raucci, 60, of Niskayuna, was arrested in Schenectady on Friday, accused of placing an incendiary device at a Rotterdam home in August 2001. That device exploded, damaging the entryway. No one was injured.
    The charge in the seven-year-old case was fair game for prosecutors because first-degree arson, a top-level felony, has no statute of limitations. Lower-level crimes typically carry a five-year limit.
    First-degree arson in this case is defined as detonating an incendiary device at a building that is occupied. The homeowner, who was present at the time of detonation, was not injured, but no injury need be sustained to file a first-degree arson charge.
    Raucci also faces a first-degree attempted arson charge out of Schodack. He was arrested on that charge as he was released on bail in the Rotterdam case.
    Raucci was being held Wednesday on the Rensselaer County charge without bail. A court appearance in that case is scheduled for Friday.
    Raucci has worked in the Schenectady City School District for 36 years, rising to the post of director of facilities. He was placed on paid administrative leave by the district on Monday.
    The state Civil Service Employees Association has taken over the local chapter where Raucci had been president. The chapter has been placed in “administratorship,” meaning that the state CSEA will handle day-to-day operations of the bargaining unit.
    Kouray suggested the accusations against Raucci may have come from his time with the union.
    He said Raucci was always respected and.....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00103

Quoted Text

Sch’dy school district too tolerant of dangerous Raucci

    As the parent of a child in Schenectady schools, I am appalled that Mr. [Steven] Raucci is on paid administrative leave after police found a bomb in his offi ce at Mont Pleasant Middle School.
    This is a man with a history of violence and bombing the wrong house in 2001. Is this really the type of person we want working in our schools with our children? Why was this person not fi red a long time ago? How do we know that there are not more bombs in more of our schools? Was he only in charge at Mont Pleasant?
    Someone above the superintendent needs to step in and take a good, hard, long look at the never-ending problems in the Schenectady school district. Here they are ready to lay off 150 teachers and paraprofessionals at end of the school year, and yet this guy gets paid leave? Does anyone else see a problem here? We are paying him with our tax dollars.
    Please speak out. We as parents have to take a stand finally and get our children the safety and education they all deserve. But if we don’t speak out and take a stand, this will never change!

    LESLIE LUCAS
    Schenectady

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00905

Did anyone happen to catch Paul V. this morning? One of the callers, in the course of blasting the Schenectady County Conservative Party, its
Executive Board, the unions, Brian Quail and a laundry list of others, noted that this Raucci's daughter was married to Mike Hamilton.

I don't think that is true.

True or not.....I heard the same thing this morning.

Ah, nice to see the conservative party spreading rumors again.  Yes folks, the season is really here.

Quoted from gadfly

Did anyone happen to catch Paul V. this morning? One of the callers, in the course of blasting the Schenectady County Conservative Party, its
Executive Board, the unions, Brian Quail and a laundry list of others, noted that this Raucci's daughter was married to Mike Hamilton.

Kelly:

Once again, you have no credibility.  Everything you say whether you attribute it to someone else saying it or it comes out of your mouth
directly is never true.  I don't know if Steve Raucci has a daughter, but if he does, he was never married to her.  And even if he was, who cares?
You are a bitter because your attempts to hijack the Conservative Party failed miserably, so you continue to spew lies about Hamiltons and others.
I guess you think that will somehow help you.  Think again.........

Quoted from gadfly

Did anyone happen to catch Paul V. this morning? One of the callers, in the course of blasting the Schenectady County Conservative Party, its
Executive Board, the unions, Brian Quail and a laundry list of others, noted that this Raucci's daughter was married to Mike Hamilton.

Go figure, Kelly caught once again lying and spreading false rumors. The same reason she was thrown off of the CP Executive Board.  

Though you may have your issues w/ Kelly, she's not making this up.  A caller to the Paul Vandenburg show this morning did say that M. Hamilton was married to a daughter of Raucci.  I heard it too!

The statement may be false, but the report of it being stated by a caller is not.

I wonder who the caller was

What is this here?

Quoted from Salvatore

What is this here?

Guess that answered my question

BTW, Vandenburgh had DA Carney on the show during the 8 o'clock hour.  He answered a few questions about the case, but did not reveal most of the pertinent information.  Carney discussed Raucci's history and that of his family and the reasons why he was denied bail in Renssalaer county, but did not provide details of the alleged crimes or identify the owners of the homes and property that were damaged.

This will be an interesting case to follow through the legal system.

Excellent post Joann
Informative
cogent
direct
thought provoking
I'll leave now,,,,,,,,,,,discuss