Officials and members of the community continue to react in Geneva after a story broke over the weekend, highlighting the breakdown of Ward 1 City Councilor Angelina Marino’s marriage, the alleged involvement of the Geneva Police Department, and follow through of the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office.
City Manager Matt Horn was the first person to react, issuing a statement late-Monday – but Ward 5 City Councilor Jason Hagerman told FingerLakes1.com on Tuesday that he has “serious concerns” on a few aspects of the story, which he plans to voice at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
“I prefer not to make snap judgments, and although there is substantial evidence in the materials made public, it is a one sided story line at this point. I am disappointed that this level of personal detail is publicized, and I expect to discover where the breakdown occurred and make corrections to better serve our community better in the future,” Councilor Hagerman added.
The City Manager said the investigative process has been thorough throughout:
“When the allegations of a possibly inappropriate relationship between Councilor Marino and a member of the Geneva Police Department initially surfaced, Chief Trickler and members of the GPD leadership team immediately conducted the appropriate inquiries and determined that the issue was unfounded. Councilor Marino acknowledged that any statements she may have made to that effect were false. To date, Chief Trickler has been unable to develop any evidence to the contrary.
In addition, the Geneva Police Department and the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the facts of the domestic incident reports cited in the Geneva Believer post, and found that the totality of the case matter did not rise to a level warranting a criminal charge.
I cannot recall a matter requiring Councilor Marino’s vote on any action that would have afforded a disproportionate benefit to the any member of the Geneva Police Department, or the department itself, and I know of nothing that would require her to recuse herself.
To my knowledge, City Council does not have the authority to take any action against a sitting Councilor,” Horn concluded.
Original
The ex-wife of City Councilor Angelina Marino recently spoke to the Geneva Believer, an alternative news organization serving the City of Geneva, regarding a series of domestic incidents involving the Ward 1 City Councilor.
Marino was elected on November 4th, 2015. A month later, Marino’s wife of three years — at the time — said she wanted to end the marriage. A day after that conversation was had between Dawn Sutton and Marino, a graphic text message was sent, according to the Believer.
The Geneva Police Department was then called to at least three domestic incidents, which are highlighted in the following reports:
All of the incidents took place in the first half of 2016.
In the story, Sutton alleges that Marino continued to harass her even after moving out. Sutton also told the Geneva Believer that she was “living in fear every day.”
Audio captured by Sutton allegedly shows one particularly heated exchange where Marino suggests that she had an affair with a member of the Geneva Police Department.
The woman alleged to be Marino in the recording can be heard saying, “You can call the police all you want, ’cause you don’t know which one of those [expletive] officers I’ve been [expletive] either, [expletive]. So call the police and see what happens to you.”
Listen to that audio from the Geneva Believer below:
A series of text messages, alleged photographic evidence, and police reports were included in the story, which outlines a months-long ordeal for Sutton.
In a statement on Monday, City Manager Matt Horn responded to the allegations. He had the following to say:
Read the entire original report from the Geneva Believer here
FingerLakes1.com has reached out to members of City Council, the City Manager’s Office, as well as the Geneva Police Department for comment.
