http://www.spotlightnews.com/news/view_news.php?news_id=1287579486Download: Amedore/Santabarbara conversation clip 1 Download: Santabarbara conversation clip 2
Will send tapes to AG, Amedore denies threats
Assembly candidate Angelo Santabarbara ,D-Rotterdam, has provided The Spotlight with audio recordings he says proves incumbent 105th District Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, threatened Santabarbara’s job by telling his employer a political challenge would be bad for business.
Santabarbara said the audio recording is of parts of a conversation between him and Amedore on or around April 29 at Aperitivo Bistro in downtown Schenectady. Amedore was not aware of the recording, said Santabarbara, which he says occurred a full month before Santabarbara officially announced his candidacy.
He is planning on turning this information, which includes the audio recordings, over to the Attorney General’s office, so they can conduct a full investigation and get any other evidence Santabarbara doesn’t have in his possession.
In the tapes provided by Santabarbara, he discusses with Amedore what was said to Santabarbara’s boss, Joe Lanaro, vice president of engineering services for The Chazen Companies.
In the first recording, Santabarbara said to Amedore, “[Lanaro] said if I ran for office, after he talked to you, uh, that you discussed that, uh, if I ran for office, it would be bad for Chazen, really bad for Chazen because of stuff going on in Saratoga, stuff about Jasper Nolan”
Nolan is the chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Committee.
Amedore responded to Santabarbara in the recorded conversation and said, “I had the conversation with him about what I was telling you. You know, I said, ‘Joe, what’s going on here? Angelo’s going around telling, telling everybody he’s running against me.’ And he looked a little surprised.”
Santabarbara provided two audio recordings — one totaling 2 minutes and 29 seconds, and the second one with a shorter length at 14 seconds. Background music and ambient noise can be heard on the audio. Santabarbara said the conversation was recorded using his mobile phone and conversation between the clips lasted for maybe a few minutes. Also, he said there was no particular reason he stopped the original recording.
Santabarbara continued to say in the recording he hadn’t told anyone he was running for office yet and he would’ve told Lanaro, because he would want him to know before anyone else did. Santabarbara continued to say he didn’t want him running in the race to affect his work.
Amedore replied and said “Right and you shouldn’t.” He then said, “But, again, one of those things that I cannot and have nothing to do with or can’t control what others are going to do.”
Santabarbara said he released the audio recording because Amedore had previously denied talking to Lanaro that Santabarbara entering the race would affect the business negatively. Santabarbara said he recorded the conversation because he wanted to protect himself if he did get fired from his job.
“It is shameful that Angelo Santabarbara would confront me while secretly recording an audio tape that he then doctors and submits to the press,” said Amedore in prepared statement, released after The Spotlight contacted him regarding the recording. “I have never, in any way, attempted to have him fired from his job and this is clearly a last ditch effort by a desperate politician.”
Thomas Buchanan, chair of the Schenectady County Republican Committee, echoed Amedore’s statement and said it is just a “Hail Mary pass” two weeks before Election Day.
Buchanan characterized Amedore’s statement to Santabarbara as a matter of fact: “Obviously, Amedore Homes isn’t going to do business with Chazen, so yeah, that is true,” he told The Spotlight Tuesday night, Oct. 19.
The second audio file supplied by Santabarbara only has a brief statement from Amedore.
Amedore says in this recording: “I did say, ‘Hey Joe, uh, if you want me to hire you again, meanwhile you got one of your top guys trying to take me out, that’s not going to look too good, especially to my father and my brothers.’”
Santabarbara said he feared for his job, even with the recordings, but he now feels comfortable releasing them and doesn’t fear for his job anymore.
“He denied it in the paper and I feel that the public needs to know what type of tactics are being used,” said Santabarbara. “These are the things that go on in Albany that nobody knows about and I am going to shed some light on it.”
When Lanaro was previously asked about the alleged incident he said he couldn’t comment on employee matters because it goes against company policy.
Santabarbara also filed a fair campaign complaint against Amedore on Oct 8., because he said Amedore violated fair campaign principles “2” and “4” of the Fair Campaign Practices for the Capital Region. On the night of Tuesday, Oct. 19, at the Calvary United Methodist Church, in Latham, the hearing occurred for the complaint. Santabarbara said a decision should be made in the near future.
The complaint dealt with statements made by Amedore surrounding with the lawsuit he filed against Santabarbara, which alleged he committed fraud with his filed petition for the Change Albany Now party line. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Santabarbara and said Santabarbara. committed no fraud.
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