Council Letter Leaked, Dapolite Counters

When Andrew Dapolite decided to express his concerns about improper practices at Rye TV to members of the Rye City Council, he did so by submitting a letter last Monday to each– directed only to them.

In a published report Thursday, corporation counsel Kristin Wilson said she was still reviewing the contents of the letter. Dapolite claims he was specifically directed to lie about the existence of a video recording of a January 25 council workshop about the organization of the fire department. Dapolite also claims audio levels on the recording were deliberately altered once its existence was revealed.

Rye Patch immediately contacted Dapolite requesting a copy of the letter from him; as well as submitting a FOIL request for the document and inquiring at the office of the city manager Scott Pickup on Friday.

Dapolite was surprised when editor Robin Jovanovich of the Rye Record contacted him saying she had obtained the letter through "a leak." Jovanovich began questioning Dapolite and directly quoting the contents of Dapolite's letter during their phone conversation.

On Friday night, Dapolite said he had no idea how Jovanovich might have obtained his letter, but after some consideration he thought it unfair one publication had obtained access to the document. He sent the document to several members of the media by email at 1 a.m. Saturday.

"It has been brought to my attention that the complaint I delivered to the Rye City Council has been leaked to The Rye Record. In light of the selective release of the document, I feel I must now honor the requests of other local news media outlets who have been asking me to release the letter. Therefore, please see attached."

The document in its entirety is included as a PDF file attached to this story.