KERHONKSON – The politics of personal destruction are alive and well in the Town of Rochester, claiming Councilmember Manuela Mihailescu as its unwitting victim when copies of her February 2009 bankruptcy petition surfaced recently on a political web-blog. The blog has since garnered more than 100 comments from anonymous, albeit, intimately informed source[s].

What has some locals upset is the fact that she listed her Rego Park address as her primary residence in the sworn statement, while her husband, Jon Dogar Marinesco, claimed residence in an apartment that he located in his antique shop. Under United States' bankruptcy laws, claiming separate residences will allow each to qualify for a $50,000 exemption.

The problem for Mihailescu is that New York State's Public Officer's Law requires that an elected official be a resident of the jurisdiction in which she is elected. The town's attorney, MaryLou Christiana, argues that because Mihailescu is registered to vote in the Town of Rochester and that her home in the town is "her usual and typical abode," which she did not "in any way abandon," she is entitled to retain her position on the town council.

The town is still awaiting an official opinion from the attorney general's office on whether Mihailescu must relinquish her seat.

Meanwhile, Town Supervisor Carl Chipman said that the town's code enforcement officer, Jerry Davis, visited the antique shop and found that the apartment listed on the petition does not exist in the store. Rather, the building houses only a bathroom and shower unit. Dogar-Marinescu said that he spends upwards of 18 hours a day in the building and believes that qualifies his claim of using the building as a residence. The land on which the antique business sits is zoned as a business district, allowing a wide range of commercial activity and some residential usage.

Mike Baden, vice-chair of the town's comprehensive plan, zoning code, and map task force said that the antique shop required a site plan review by the planning board, which he believed was approved in 2007. "However," he said, "no apartment or residence was mentioned or approved during that review."

Many anonymous postings on the web-blog cite the sheer magnitude of outstanding debt as an indicator that Mihailescu is not qualified to make financial decisions for the town. The petition, a Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, reveals a combined debt of nearly $1 million, including $400,000 in credit card debt, $6,080 in overdrafts on a Citibank checking account, $10,993 owed to a local excavating business, and $7,815 in unpaid school and town taxes.

Dogar-Marinesco confirmed that on June 8, 2009, the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York discharged a debt of almost $500,000, "out of which about 20 percent consists in credit card late fees accrued after contacting the bankruptcy lawyer."

At this juncture, the only issue remaining in the bankruptcy proceedings is the surrender and/or sale of the properties — the Brick House, fifteen adjacent acres of land, and the antique store on Rt. 209 in the Town of Rochester, and a Rego Park co-op.

Chipman said that Mihailescu's personal bankruptcy does not affect her decisions as a councilmember and that her "financial misfortunes are the result of the economic downturn."

Mihailescu agrees with his assessment, citing the lack of sales during the 2008 holiday season as devastating to their business. Yet, charges placed on some 38 credit cards indicate that they were accruing debt long before this past holiday season.

Mihailescu denounces the public release of her bankruptcy filing, calling it a mean-spirited and despicable act. Dogar-Marinesco described the anonymous mailing as "a politically-motivated character assassination attempt" and believes the act is directly linked to Mihailescu's decision to buck her party's endorsed nominee and run for the county's District 1 legislative seat.

The ticket, an agreement between the Republican, Democratic, Independence, and Conservative chairs, collectively endorsed the district's three incumbent Democrats, and newcomer, Terry Bernardo (R-I-Kerhonkson) for the District 1 seat that was to be vacated by retiring Sue Cummings.

Ed Gaddy, chair of Ulster County's Conservative Committee, said he didn't sign Mihailescu's Wilson Pakula, a New York State authorization form that allows non-enrolled members a line on the party's ticket, because she began her bid too late into the process. "Manuela was tripping on her laces while everyone else was at the finish line," he said.

Mihailescu did secure a line on the Republican ticket, after she had acquired enough signed petitions.

Asked about Mihailescu's plan to finance her legislative run, Dogar-Marinesco said they will soon form an "Elect Manuela" committee, "to be done according to NYS election law," and will then begin soliciting donations.