Bernard Charles LoHud File Photo
You’ve probably heard of a Teflon Don to whom no charges, no matter who brings them, can stick. Well, Bernard Charles might be Ramapo’s first Teflon Employee, to whom no job will stick, at least not for long, before he needs another one created for him. And they just keep creating jobs for him despite Civil Service exam challenges or questionable time cards. Why would Supervisors St. Lawrence and Michael Specht and School Board officials keep doing this? I’ll leave that to your imagination or your own review of his past voting record in various board seats that he has kept warm for others. Here’s the Journal News’ latest cross-out and reassignment for Mr. Charles.
Bernard Charles loses Ramapo rec job and gets rehired promoting the town baseball stadium
RAMAPO – Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Bernard Charles lost his Ramapo recreation job after failing civil service exams and soon afterward was hired by Ramapo to promote the town’s financially beleaguered baseball stadium.
The consultant’s position will pay Charles $27.14 per hour for a 40-hour work week — about $5,000 per month — without benefits, Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht said. It is not a civil-service job.
Specht said Charles sought employment and has been given a three-month tryout to show he can bring additional business to the Pomona stadium. The independent league Rockland Boulders play at the stadium during spring and summer months. The team controls the facility’s scheduling, offering open dates to be booked by other programs.
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Charles is married to Councilwoman Brendel Logan-Charles, who sits on the Ramapo Town Board as deputy supervisor. His wife’s position was not a factor in the decision to hire Charles, Specht said, and that Logan-Charles abstained from the vote to do so.
“He’s got a background in doing promotions for radio and theater,” Specht said.
Charles, an appointed Spring Valley deputy mayor and elected East Ramapo Board of Education member, got hired by the Ramapo Local Development Corp., the town’s economic development arm. The Ramapo Town Board comprises the LDC board so there is no longer any separation between town government and the agency.
The agency’s financial practices stood at the core of the federal corruption trial that led to former Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence’s conviction of securities fraud in May, 2107. St. Lawrence is serving a 30-month federal prison sentence.
Ramapo hired Charles in 2014 for a position left vacant for five years. He previously had worked as parks and recreation director in Spring Valley. At the time, his hiring forced him to leave his Ramapo public affairs consultant’s position.
His position as a Ramapo assistant recreation activities coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department paid $45,973 annually. He lost that job in late 2016 when he failed to take the civil service exam.
The town then rehired him as a program director in January 2017. He failed the civil service exam in April 2018 and received a 30-day extension before being terminated.
His duties had included diversifying the use of the Cultural Arts Center on Main Street in Spring Valley, operating the town’s food bank, and increasing community participation in the town’s recreational programs.”
Read the full text of Steve Lieberman’s story in The Journal News here.