LOCKPORT — The Niagara County Public Defender’s Office is undergoing a leadership shakeup in keeping with recommendations from a private law firm that determined the office’s two top attorneys exhibited what officials described as “unprofessional” behavior.
Following a lengthy meeting behind closed doors on Tuesday night, members of the county legislature agreed to accept the resignation of chief public defender Nicholas Robinson, effective Feb. 3.
They followed that decision with an unanimous vote to replace Robinson, the top lawyer and administrator in the county public defender’s office, with Herb Greenman, a prominent Erie County attorney who comes to the job with decades of legal experience. Greenman is slated to take over the position on the same day Robinson departs.
Both moves follow last year’s decision by the county to place Robinson and the office’s first deputy Vince Sandonato on paid administrative leave for undisclosed reasons. Both attorneys were placed on leave after the county hired a private law firm — Bond, Schoeneck & King in Erie County — to conduct what officials described as an “independent, third-party review” of operations and staff in the public defender’s office.
County officials confirmed that they received an update on the contents of the law firm’s final report during a roughly hour-long executive session held during Tuesday’s legislature meeting.
While they declined to disclose any specifics, officials said the private law firm recommended the removal of both Robinson and Sandonato from their leadership roles.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, county Public Information Officer Kevin Schuler said Robinson will remain on the county’s payroll through Feb. 3 and will work from home while assisting in Greenman’s transition into the office’s top administrative post.
As of Tuesday, Sandonato had not yet submitted his resignation, although county officials said they are expecting him to do so by Feb. 3.
“Neither will be returning to the public defenders’ office,” Schuler said. “The expectation is that Mr. Sandonato will leave the office the same day as Mr. Robinson.”
The county refused to release a copy of the law firm’s findings, with county attorney Claude Joerg arguing that the contents are considered “attorney-client privilege” and, therefore, are not subject to public disclosure under the law.
“We’ve got resignations coming so I wouldn’t do something inconsistent with what (the law firm’s) recommendations are, but I don’t want to get it into it beyond that,” Jeorg said.
Joerg did confirm that the county hired the private law firm to investigate the public defender’s office after receiving a complaint from a female attorney.
The newspaper has learned that part of that complaint involved allegations of questionable conduct tied to consumption of alcohol while attending a legal conference out-of-town.
Joerg said the female attorney remains employed by the county, however, she has not returned to work since filing her complaint. He said she has retained an attorney of her own but has not yet taken any legal action against the county.
When asked if the situation inside the public defender’s office had any impact on the legal defense of individuals who qualified for the office’s services, Joerg said he was not of aware of any complaints.
“I haven’t heard any (concerns) about how anybody’s been represented,’ Joerg said.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Minority Leader Chris Robins, D-Niagara Falls, said Greenman’s appointment was made based on the recommendations from the private law firm that determined the public defender’s office was not operating as a “professional workplace” and that neither Robinson nor Sandonato should continue in their leadership roles. When asked if the conduct in question was at all criminal in nature, Robins said “definitely” not.
“Unprofessional conduct I guess would be the best way to describe it,” Robins said.
By law, the county’s chief public defender is a position appointed by the legislature for two-year terms. County officials said, as a result of his appointment, Greenman is slated to full out the remainder of Robinson’s term, which ends in 2026.
Greenman, whose career started as an assistant Erie County district attorney in the mid-1970s, has over the years built a reputation of being one of the top private defense attorneys in Western New York.
County officials said they are confident he will make a smooth transition as the new leader of the public defender’s office.
“He’s one of the best defense lawyers out there,” Joerg said. “I can’t believe we got him to tell you the truth.”