Tyrone town supervisor claims form was falsified

TYRONE--Tyrone Supervisor Don Desrochers informed the town council Tuesday, Oct. 10 he has become aware of a Tyrone document on file with the state Department of Transportation he says has been falsified.
It was after the regular town meeting Tuesday Desrochers announced the problem. In addition to council members, more than 20 residents were in attendance at the meeting along with Schuyler County Legislature Chairman Dennis Fagan.
Desrochers said he told the Tyrone group the Hornell DOT office has a resolution in their file that shows two roads were included on the form that should not have been listed. The two roads are Danilowicz Road (from West Lake Road to the end of the road for a corrected length of .76 miles) and Wagner Road (from West Lake Road to the end of the road for a corrected length of .91 miles). Desrochers said these private roads were not approved by the town council for the roads to receive repairs and capital investments by the town.
The document that Desrochers claims is fraudulent contains the voting preference of the town board individuals, the supervisor and a signature on the line for the town clerk. Desrochers said that Town Clerk Deborah Tyler signed a statement on Friday, Oct. 13 testifying she had not signed any such document to include the two roads mentioned above.
An investigation is underway looking at the details of this falsified document charge.
Tyrone has some history with improper document allegations. The town Highway Superintendent Paul H. Ernhout was charged (Feb. 21, 2017) with a felony count of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (class E felony) and with official misconduct ( a class A misdemeanor). It is alleged Ernhout submitted an altered town highway vehicle invoice for work done on his personal vehicle. Ernhout was released on an appearance ticket and was scheduled to appear in town court on March 13. That court date was changed and the location was moved to the town of Orange. Two Orange court dates for Ernhout have been scheduled (Sept. 19 and Sept. 26) but neither occurred according to Desrochers.
The Tyrone town supervisor said investigators and the county attorneys are still pursuing the Ernhout case.