01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 16, 2007

By Maria Armental

Journal Staff Writer

CHARLESTOWN — The attorney general’s office is investigating three Open Meetings Act complaints filed against three members of the five-member Town Council.

A criminal complaint lodged by one of the council members against 17 South County residents, some with environmental interests, charging them of being “eco-terrorists” is still being reviewed, a spokesman for the office said Friday.

The first open meetings complaint, filed on Nov. 15 by Thomas C. DePatie, accused then council members-elect James M. Mageau, Bruce W. Picard and John O. Craig Jr. of violating the open meetings law by meeting without proper notice to discuss town affairs, namely the election of the new council president, vice president and the position of the town administrator, which was vacant at the time.

The three met for breakfast on the weekend following the election and decided to support Mageau as the next council president and Craig as the vice president.

Mageau said at the time that as council president, he would exercise his right to appoint himself acting town administrator.

The previous town administrator, Richard J. Sartor, resigned after the election, citing a lack of trust and difficulty working with the newly elected council.

At the time, Craig said Edward M. Barrett’s name had been discussed as a replacement.

Barrett was appointed town administrator on a 3-to-2 vote at the swearing-in. Katharine H. Waterman and Harriet A. Allen, who were elected council president and vice president respectively, voted against the appointment citing a need to open the position to outside candidates and criticizing the way Barrett’s appointment was made – Waterman and Allen were not aware Barrett’s name was being considered or would be submitted for a vote on Nov. 20.

Allen filed the other two open meetings complaints on Jan. 5. The first complaint, which she asked to be dropped yesterday, accuses Mageau, Craig and Picard of violating the open meetings law by trying to adopt an abbreviated version of a meeting’s minutes that did not reflect a vote taken, witnesses present, or an accurate description of council members’ comments at the meeting. The council eventually approved Allen’s amendments to the minutes.

The second complaint – Waterman later joined Allen on the complaint – accuses the three council members of going into a closed session on Jan. 4 without properly disclosing the reason for such meeting. The minutes from the closed portion of the meeting have been sealed.

Mageau characterized the open meetings complaints as “frivolous.”

He said yesterday he is considering filing a criminal complaint against Allen for her actions at the end of last Thursday’s special meeting for allegedly staging the theft of a purse and then jokingly urging residents to call Homeland Security because the purse could contain a bomb.

“As far as I’m concerned what she did is a felony,” Mageau said.

Mageau said the purse episode likely was a parody of an incident that occurred months ago, when the purse of an attorney who is suing the town was taken from council chambers. Both purses were eventually returned.

Allen said a police officer approached her after the meeting ended and asked her to announce over the microphone someone had forgot a purse. She did so, adding some humor.

“You can either laugh or cry in life,” Allen explained her decision to joke about the second purse episode in Town Hall – Mageau had questioned the security in the building following the first incident.

“Let’s face it. This is a time for tears in Charlestown,” she said. “I make a choice, which is to use humor.”

“Copies of the three open meetings complaints have been sent to Charlestown Town Solicitor Robert E. Craven.

Craven advised the three council members on the complaint filed by DePatie prior to being appointed town solicitor.

He said yesterday he will contact the attorney general’s office this week to determine if the three council members should file a personal response with the office and retain a private attorney.

“To have the town solicitor respond is almost an acknowledgement that they are council members or council members-elect,” Craven said.

“My response is that they were neither,” Craven said, noting the election results were not yet official.

Craven said if the attorney general’s office extends the applicability of the open meetings law to unofficial winners, the Charlestown council members’ meeting would technically violate the act, but they could not be fined.

“I try to follow the guidelines,” Craig said. “I’m not trying to circumvent the law. But if we did something that violates the law, I hope the attorney general’s office will let us know.”

Michael J. Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, confirmed the attorney general received Mageau’s criminal complaint on Nov. 29 and is reviewing its merits.

Among those listed in Mageau’s criminal complaint are Waterman and Allen along with former state Rep. Matthew J. McHugh, who had expressed interest in serving as acting town administrator in Charlestown at a nominal $1 a day fee while the Town Council found a permanent replacement for Sartor. Also listed on the complaint were DePatie and Clifford L. Vanover, a volunteer with Cox Communications Public Access. Last week, Mageau asked for Vanover to be removed from a special council meeting that Vanover was taping for Cox’s public access station.

DePatie cofounded “Not All 35 Feet,” a local group that objected to increasing building heights townwide to 35 feet. The change had been proposed by Margaret Hogan, a local land-use lawyer.

In his complaint, Mageau asked the attorney general to direct the state police to investigate whether a threat made to fellow Councilman Craig amounted to a threat against him and charged the so-called eco-terrorists were responsible for the threats.