SCCC trustees informed of Moono’s arrest within 24 hours

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

SCCC President Steady H. Moono introduces SCCC Board of Trustees Chairwoman Ann Fleming Brown at the school's commencement on Thursday May 19 at Proctors.

Schenectady County Community College trustees were made aware of President Steady Moono’s May 5 drunken driving arrest within 24 hours, according to emails provided to The Daily Gazette in response to a public records request.

Both Moono, who makes over $170,000 a year, and SCCC Chief of Staff Paula Ohlhous were arrested in Duanesburg at around 1 a.m. on May 5, while driving westbound on Route 7 in separate vehicles.

The pair were driving from Albany to Ohlhous’ home near Duanesburg. Moono told the trustees that he followed Ohlhous to make sure she returned home safely. They each registered blood alcohol levels at or slightly above the legal limit of 0.08. Moono was scheduled to attend the Tech Valley Business Hall of Fame dinner at 6 p.m. that night at the Albany Marriott, according to his schedule.

By the end of the day of his early morning arrest, Moono had informed SCCC Board of Trustees Chair Ann Fleming Brown about the arrest, and she had informed the rest of the board by email that night.

“It is my duty to inform you of an incident which was self-reported to me by both President Moono and Paula Ohlhous,” Fleming Brown wrote in the email she sent to the college’s other trustees shortly after 8 p.m. on May 5. “I wanted to let you know as soon as possible so that we can discuss as needed, and be prepared for expected media attention.”

Trustee Gary Hughes, a Schenectady County legislator, responded to her email within an hour: “Got your message. Processing.”

But the board didn’t meet as a whole until May 16, its next scheduled meeting. At that meeting, Moono apologized to the trustees and said he would handle the situation in court. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of driving while ability impaired on May 18.

The news of his arrest and pending court appearance, as well as the simultaneous arrest of Ohlhous, broke in the media on May 18 just hours before the pair were scheduled to appear in Duanesburg Town court.

Some staff on campus were at a loss for how to respond to the story.

“With the ever worsening nightmare of this news story and with no official guidance, I have taken the liberty of informing my directors to refer any inquiries to HR,” SCCC Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success Stephen Fragale wrote in an email to SCCC Vice President of Administration Charles Richardson on the evening of May 18.

Richardson responded that a statement would be released the following day and that press inquiries should be directed to Gramercy Communications. Fragale passed that message on to the college’s directors of student advisement, financial aid and admissions.

“Thanks Charlie [Richardson]; too little too late unfortunately,” Fragale wrote in a response to Richardson shortly before 6 p.m.

By the end of the day, Fleming Brown had sent out an email to all college staff, noting that Moono “proactively” informed the board of the arrest and that the board “expressed their full support” for him. The trustees “have been respectful of the legal process,” she wrote, and Moono assured board members that the arrest was an isolated incident.

The following day, May 19, SCCC held its annual commencement, where Moono apologized to students for the “distraction” created by his arrest. “This saddens me more than any personal punishment,” he said during the graduation ceremony.

In a written statement Tuesday, Fleming Brown reiterated the board’s “full support” of Moono and that the trustees “felt it was our obligation to meet with him personally before making any public statements.”

The response to the request under the Freedom of Information Law did not include any communications between college officials and Gramercy Communications, a private firm retained by the college for media relations, marketing and communications strategy.

A letter included with the response cited the law’s exemption of “inter-agency or intra-agency” materials as well as a separate law that covers material exempted under other state or federal laws.