Tue, Jun 07, 2005
Vendetta?
Could it be that someone at the
Farmingdale, NY, FSDO has a vendetta against Michael Tarascio and
his family?
On May 24, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Administrative Law Judge Patrick Geraghty ordered dismissal of four
Emergency Orders issued by the Federal Aviation Administration,
suspending Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic certificates
held by four employees of Air East Airways, a fixed base operator
located at Farmingdale
Airport in New York. The law judge dismissed the emergency
orders for "failure of proof."
Three of the mechanics are sons of Michael Tarascio, owner and
operator of Air East. In September 2004, a law judge dismissed an
Emergency Order of Revocation issued by the FAA against Michael
Tarascio. In that case, the FAA sought revocation of
Tarascio's Airline Pilot and A&P mechanic certificates. That
dismissal was affirmed by the NTSB. Thereafter, the law judge
ordered the FAA to pay $21,978.47 for attorney fees and expenses
pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act. The law judge held
that the revocation "was not substantially justified in law or in
fact."
Within the past nine months, five Emergency Orders issued by the
FAA have been dismissed. Four Emergency Orders were issued
against members of the Tarascio family. The fifth order was
issued against a mechanic who works with the Tarascio
family. In all cases, Respondents were represented by Gregory
Winton, a former FAA trial attorney.
During discovery, FAA officials from
the Farmingdale Flight Standards District Office testified under
oath that they were instructed to treat the Tarascio family
"differently." The instructions were issued by Inspector John Krepp
and supported by FAA Regional Counsel Loretta Alkalay and staff
attorney Brendan Kelly. One FAA official testified that the
Emergency Orders were issued as part of a "witch hunt" against the
Tarascio family.
Winton stated that "prosecution of these cases against the
Tarascios without basis in law or fact is a violation of their
constitutional rights and a complete waste of government agency
resources."
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