WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester Guardian. August 22, 2007: Gene Smith, a Westchester Guardian employee, was given a criminal summons by Yonkers Police, for distributing the Westchester Guardian newspapers to news racks.
At the time of the issuance of the summons, police threatened Mr. Smith with arrest if he did not stop distributing The Guardian newspaper. The publisher, Sam Zherka, when asked if he would be in court on August 23, replied, "absolutely."
A total of 10 Guardian employees filed suit in Federal District Court in White Plains, claiming the City of Yonkers, The Mayor, Phillip Amicone, Police Commissoner Edmond Hartnett, the DPW Commissioner and a Police Officer, Wood, among many others, violated their right of free speech and press and threatened them with arrest after stopping them from distributing newspapers for the Westchester Guardian. A total of 16 summonses were issued to the Guardian 10. The Employees are scheduled to appear in Yonkers City Court August 23.
Here is what allegedly the City of Yonkers did to distributors of The Guardian, beginning July 9, according to the legal complaint:
13. Commencing during the week of July 9, 2207, and continuing thereafter, the owner of the Guardian and a number of Guardian employees including Plaintiffs repeatedly sought to distribute inside and/or outside Yonkers’ City Hall:
a. Copies of DUMB & DUMBER as contained in the Guardian
b. Copies of the July 26, 2007, Guardian the front page headline of which
reported: “Guardian Publisher Offers $25,000 Reward For Information Leading to the Arrest and Conviction of Westchester Public Officials and Politicians Who Have Broken the Law and Betrayed the Public Trust”, and,
c. Copies of the August 2, 2007, Guardian the front page headline of which read: “Phil Amicone A Huge Flop! Fails to Deal With Police Brutality. Sharpton Correctly Identifies Problem As Not Targeting Only the Minority Community”.
14. In that connection pursuant to a coordinated action orchestrated by Amicone, Hartnett, Liszewsky, their co-defendants and numerous members of the City’s Police and Public Works Departments, all copies of the Guardian were repeatedly confiscated and discarded by Defendants - - hateful conduct motivated in whole or in substantial respect by the substantive content of the Guardian concerning Amicone and the Yonkers Police.
15. Also in that connection and pursuant to the same coordinated action, Guardian newsracks were repeatedly confiscated and/or discarded by Defendants under the direction of Liszewski, action taken by similarly motivated hateful conduct.
16. As a further consequence of that coordinated action, Defendants repeatedly and daily targeted employees of The Guardian News, Inc.”, as indicated infra, threatened them with arrest, and charged them criminally - - with the same motivation and the objective of entirely stopping dissemination of the Guardian in and about City Hall and the City because of its substantive content.
17. By way of contrast publications favorable to Amicone and the City (such as “Yonkers City of Vision”) were permitted by the Defendants to be dispensed from inter alia:
a. A newsrack, located on a stairway in City Hall, and
b. A counter at a security desk in City Hall as manned by a uniformed
Police Officer.
18. Also by way of contrast, persons distributing the publications favorable to Amicone and the City were permitted with impunity by Defendants to place those periodicals:
a. In the stairway newsrack referenced supra, and,
b. On the security desk counter as referenced supra.
19. For the purpose of disseminating copies of the Guardian as referenced supra each of the Plaintiff was, amongst others, assigned by The Guardian News, Inc. to work in the City and at and about Yonkers’ City Hall and in that connection to non-disruptively give to willing recipients, copies of the Guardian.
20. As a proximate result of Plaintiffs’ conduct each was confronted by City Police Officers, including Wood and
a. Ordered to cease distributing the Guardian on the supposed premise that its distribution was illegal in Yonkers,
b. Issued criminal informations charging them with distributing
the Guardian,
b. Ordered to leave the premises,
c. Threatened with arrest/incarcerate should they return to distribute the
Guardian, and,
d. Coerced to depart from the City by intimidation.
21. Under the premises Defendants’ conduct has caused Plaintiffs: to be chilled in the exercise of their First Amendment rights as a consequence of which they will not prospectively distribute the Guardian in the City; emotional upset; public embarrassment; public humiliation; shame; impairment of their right to liberty to the extent they are required by the criminal informations to appear in Yonkers City Court under threat of issuance of a bench warrant; anxiety; punishment for exercising their right of free speech; selectively punished, in contrast to distributors of periodicals favorable to Amicone and the City; and otherwise rendered sick and sore.
