Pol cracks down on school sex crimes
BY WIL CRUZ, Newsday, March 27, 2005

LINK

Behind the stories of hanky-panky between teenage students and adults, corruption and nepotism in the city's schools are the reports that uncover such behavior.

Popping in and out of the news with the occasional bombshell investigation that makes a front-page splash, the reports expose alleged corruption, inappropriate relationships and potential crimes in the city's massive, 1,300-school, 1.1 million-student school system.

In the background of those stories is Richard Condon, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools and the man who authorizes the reports. And in the background is where he prefers it.

"I get more than enough publicity," Condon, who served as the city's police commissioner in 1989 and 1990, said with a laugh.

Condon's laid-back approach differs from that of his predecesor, Ed Stancik, who died in 2002. Stancik was more visible, openly fighting with school chancellors, among others. Condon is less confrontational, colleagues say, and more cooperative withother agencies. Condon and Stancik are the only two people to have held the special investigator post.

Despite their differences, Condon and Stancik pursued cases in the same aggressive manner. Last week, Condon's investigators busted Wayne Brightly, a teacher who coerced a mentally unstable man into taking a state exam for him and posing as the educator before officials.

A Condon report last year also brought down Diana Lam, the senior education official who last year was accused of pulling strings to get her husband a job.

And in January 2004, Condon investigators revealed that Walter Turnbull, the founder of the Boys Choir of Harlem, did not report the alleged abuse of a 14-year-old boy.

In criminal cases, Condon's non-binding reports are relayed to district attorney's offices. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, who has known Condon for more than 30 years, said the special commissioner involves him early on.

"He recognizes that if you're going to aggressively prosecute these cases, you have to know what they're all about," Brown said. "He'll ask for our help. He'll get us involved in the investigation before the case... or an arrest is made."

The office was recommended by the Gill Commission in 1990 to fight corruption in the school system, but since Condon's appointment in 2002 the office has found itself using a lot of resources to investigate inappropriate sexual behavior and sex crimes against children.

Of the thousands of complaints that pass through his office, Condon said about 25 percent have a sexual component.

Condon, whose office works with a $3.5 million budget, has 40 to 45 investigators. Some of them, he said, are retired city police officers who worked in sex crimes units.

"You always have a heightened concern because you're dealing with children," Condon said. "You want to be sure that they're as protected as possible."

Over the last two years, the number of cases involving a sexual element has stayed relatively flat. The number of complaints about relationships between adult school workers and consenting teenagers has increased.

In 2003, there were 13 such reports, which can become criminal cases if the teenager is under 17. There were eight more cases last year, according to Condon.

A spate of recent sensational reports -- including alleged foot fetishes, trysts in classrooms and an affair between a 61-year-old teacher and a 14-year-old student -- spurred State Senator Carl Kruger to introduce a bill January 26 to make such relationships against the law.

Currently, an affair between an adult in the system and a child who is 17 or older is grounds for being fired, though not criminal.

The alleged offenders are reassigned or suspended, and Department of Education officials said regulations are in place and that, pending investigations, termination is usually sought in the cases.

"We are very clear on this point," said Margie Feinberg, a department spokeswoman. "This is not a case where employees don't know that what they are doing is wrong."

Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said Condon's office is more in tune with the spirit of what the Gill Commission had in mind when it recommended that the office. Weingarten, who served on the commission, said by purging alleged cheats like Lam and highlighting flaws in the system, as in last week's report, under Condon the office seems more willing to weed out corruption than it had in the past.

"That got lost over time," she added. "I think Condon's office has tried to bring it back."

Some question the independence of the office. Educators and advocates, speaking off the record, have wondered how autonomous Condon's office is from the Department of Education.

Condon and Klein, in separate interviews, maintained that Condon's office is free from the Department of Education's controls, each pointing to Lam's case as examples.

"The key is that both are under the mayor's direction," Condon said, referring to his office and the DOE. He added that the offices have a good working relationship, but emphasized his autonomy. "The chancellor has no authority over me."
Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.