This post is one in a partnership between the Rochester Beacon and veteran reporter Gary Craig, featuring articles published on his Substack site.
A federal magistrate judge has asked federal prosecutors to determine whether a former Greece town board member committed perjury with statements during an ongoing civil case against the town and former officials.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pedersen last year wrote that he saw the need for an investigation into statements made by William Murphy, a former member of the town board who lost the supervisor’s race to Jeffery McCann.
However, his decision was appealed to U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford, who in late December affirmed Pedersen’s decision.
“In light of Murphy’s inconsistent statements before Judge Pedersen, the Court finds no clear error in Judge Pedersen’s conclusion that a referral to the United States Attorney’s Office for a possible perjury prosecution is warranted,” Wolford wrote. “That said, it is entirely within Judge Pedersen’s authority to make this referral.
“Accordingly, the matter is referred back to Judge Pedersen to decide whether to make the referral. After all, Judge Pedersen is much more familiar with the procedural posture of the case and history of Murphy’s inconsistent statements.”
Dan Strollo, an attorney for Murphy, said the public nature of the referral—a similar referral could be made without public notice—could leave a shadow over Murphy even if no prosecution is pursued. The investigation will likely be handled by the FBI.
“I’m frustrated by the way that this came about because the FBI isn’t going to announce that they’re closing the case,” he said. “You don’t get vindicated by the FBI.”
The civil case
The statements at issue from Murphy arose from a civil case in which Robert “Bobby” Johnson sued the town and some officials, including former Supervisor William Reilich and Reilich’s longtime assistant, former Deputy Supervisor Michelle Marini.
Johnson, the town’s former deputy public works commissioner, alleged that he did thousands of hours of private work for Reilich and Marini.
(Two of my past Democrat and Chronicle stories provide the background: “Ex-Greece employee sues Bill Reilich, town over unpaid labor allegations.” And one of my favorites: “A Batmobile replica, Hot Rod Ranch: What’s behind allegations in Reilich, Greece lawsuit.”)
That lawsuit, filed in August 2023, is still proceeding. Murphy, though a Republican, occasionally clashed with Reilich, also a Republican. Reilich and others accused Murphy of assisting in the lawsuit, a move that would run counter to the town interests.
Reilich and town attorneys accused Murphy of being in contact with Johnson’s lawyer, Maureen Bass, which Murphy denied. But Reilich surreptitiously recorded Murphy in a conversation, and Greece officials claim Murphy indicated he had contact with Bass.
Murphy later acknowledged that he may have given that indication in the taped talk but said he wanted the town to be concerned because he was upset with how it was handling matters like the lawsuit.
In a Facebook post, Murphy wrote that he once “sought to create panic with the Town Administration by mentioning Ms. Bass’s name, this time as possibly being part of (a) group text message I received.”
In a statement given under oath as part of the civil suit, Murphy said he had no contact with Bass. He and Bass insist that is so. That statement is what is at issue with the allegations of perjury.
Strollo said he and Murphy have “reached out proactively” to federal authorities to explain the conflicting statements.
“We have nothing to hide,” he said. “We will cooperate and welcome any inquiry.”
Gary Craig is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. A retired Democrat and Chronicle reporter, he now writes on Substack.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].