Rochester City Council is going to be asking the city’s Board of Ethics to investigate the hiring of Mayor Lovely Warren’s security detail. Specifically, the board will be asked to determine if the hiring of the two men was done in accordance with Civil Service Comission requirements and whether Warren violated the city’s anti-nepotism policy by hiring Reggie Hill as part of that detail. He is Warren’s uncle.
In response, Warren issued this statement:
"I would fully expect City Council to utilize the Board of Ethics for any matter that they determine is appropriate. It was under my leadership as President of Council that the Board of Ethics was reconvened, and members were put in place. I served on the board and appreciate the work that the board -- comprised of citizens of varying political backgrounds -- will do to ensure that the residents of Rochester are well-served, and their tax dollars are appropriately spent. Members of my administration and I will be available to answer any and all questions; and supply any information requested by the Board."
The call for the ethics investigation comes after a report earlier in the day on Monday that Warren’s security person, Reggie Hill, had been driving her back from Albany last week when he was stopped by a State Trooper. An Albany newspaper reported that Hill was traveling at 97 miles an hour. While Warren did not know the exact speed, she said it was more like 77 to 80 miles an hour, and she indicated that Hill, a retired state police investigator, was used to traveling faster than the normal traffic speed when he used to guard the Governor. Hill did not get a speeding ticket.
At the news conference earlier on Monday, Warren again defended the appointment of the security guards, talking about threats that prompted that decision, but did acknowledge she could have been more clear with the public about the hiring of the guards. Their appointment is temporary pending a formal hiring process.
