If you thought the treatment of alumni last night and Friday was despicable and got the impression SA defunded Dippikill staff positions in RETALIATION for Dippikill staff's overtime wage labor law violation claim that cost SA over $500,000 in settlement, get a load of this corrupt attempt on the part of one or more members of the outgoing Student Association to use UPD to try to intimidate me by advising me I was under some bogus "criminal investigation" for sending an email to SA Senators advocating for Dippikill as an Alumni stakeholder, pursuant to my Constitutional rights to free speech and to petition for redress of grievances. They should all be embarrassed...
After this complaint to President Rodriguez about retaliation, I never heard from them again. But retaliation is what they do. There is a pattern and practice of such unlawful behavior here. Pathetic!
> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 at 4:06 PM
> From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> To: "Havidan Rodriguez, President" <presmail@albany.edu>
> Cc: pburlingame@albany.edu, "Laurence Socci" <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>
> Subject: Fw: Re: Email Correspondence
>
> I am not going to tolerate unlawful intimidation tactics from UAlbany UPD like this. This came in obvious retaliation right after I served notice of open meeting law violations on the University and the SA Senate pursuant to the COOG advisory opinion. Another absolute legitimate purpose.
>
> My attorney is preparing a formal cease and desist letter to the University to refrain from making baseless threats in the hopes we can avoid a 1983 Federal Civil Rights Action over this stunt. An immediate apology from the chief copied here will resolve this... at the moment.
>
> The email addresses used below are not private email addresses. That would be the student senators' gmail accounts. They are email addresses on the albany.edu domain used by SA senators in performance of their official duties. We have the evidence to prove it.
>
> I will not be dictated to and you will not trample on my First Amendment rights with impunity.
>
> My attorney will be in touch.
>
> /s/ JAMES LAMB
>
>
>
>
> > Sent: Monday, January 27, 2025 at 6:39 PM
> > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > To: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > Cc: emadappatt@albany.edu, sewheeler@albany.edu, amattupurath@albany.edu, agomez6@albany.edu, mkavalunas@albany.edu, egish@albany.edu, frifenberg-stempel@albany.edu, gsmith7@albany.edu, gkitt@albany.edu, gaugenstern@albany.edu, jacooper@albany.edu, jharris20@albany.edu, jchen49@albany.edu, jbontemps@albany.edu, kbechand@albany.edu, pcataldo@albany.edu, lrjohnson@albany.edu, lkohout@albany.edu, mperez7@albany.edu, mahmad4@albany.edu, mrosenbaum@albany.edu, nyevko@albany.edu, nfeldman@albany.edu, pvaidya@albany.edu, rjgoldstein@albany.edu, rszepek@albany.edu, tpettit@albany.edu, tserao@albany.edu, zgondal@albany.edu, tbarletta@albany.edu, pthakoordial@albany.edu, cnobles@albany.edu, sejimenez@albany.edu, sblair2@albany.edu, iblauvelt-mercado@albany.edu, sapresident@albany.edu, sa@albany.edu, james.lamb@alumni.albany.edu, mchristakis@albany.edu, Editor-In-Chief <theasp.eic@gmail.com>, "Moore, Kathleen" <kathleen.moore@timesunion.com>, "Laurence Socci" <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>, "Havidan Rodriguez, President" <presmail@albany.edu>, FOIL <foil@albany.edu>, foil@suny.edu
> > Subject: This just in... COOG Advisory Opinion Calls for Modifications to SA's Website
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear SA Senate & University Officials,
> >
> > You are blocking the public from downloading the 2024-2025 SA budget from:
> >
> > https://www.saualbany.com/internal-budget-information
> >
> >
> > Please see the advisory opinion below regarding this and meeting recordings.
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > /s/ JAMES LAMB
> >
> > Sent: Monday, January 27, 2025 at 12:16 PM
> > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > To: "FOIL" <foil@albany.edu>, foil@suny.edu
> > Cc: dosCOOG@dos.ny.gov, "Moore, Kathleen" <kathleen.moore@timesunion.com>, "Editor-In-Chief" <theasp.eic@gmail.com>
> > Subject: Fw: RE: Sharepoint Restrictions Constitute Open Meeting Violation
> >
> > See below...
> >
> >
> > Sent: Monday, January 27, 2025 at 10:49 AM
> > From: "dos.sm.Coog.InetCoog" <dosCOOG@dos.ny.gov>
> > To: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > Subject: RE: Sharepoint Restrictions Constitute Open Meeting Violation
> >
> > Good morning Mr. Lamb,
> >
> > The Committee on Open Government is authorized to provide information, guidance, and opinions regarding the Open Meetings Law (OML). The Committee is not empowered to declare violations of the Law, a power that lies with the judiciary.
> >
> > To begin, the Committee has offered the opinion that student government associations of public universities may be public bodies required to comply with the OML when they are "authorized to review budgets and allocate student activity fees and disbursements[.]" OML-AO-3474[https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/otext/3474.htm It is clear from the University at Albany Student Association (Association) website (About Us — Student Association[https://www.saualbany.com/about-us that it allocates student activity fees and maintains a budget, and so in our opinion the Association would be a public body governed by the OML.
> >
> > If a public body records its meetings because it is using videoconferencing pursuant to OML § 103-a(2)(g), an unedited copy of that recording must be “posted or linked on the public website of the public body within five business days following the meeting, and shall remain so available for a minimum of five years thereafter.” If an agency is not videoconferencing for “extraordinary circumstances” pursuant to § 103-a, it is not obligated to record or post records of its meeting to its website. However, if it recorded the meeting voluntarily, the recording would be a record subject to the records retention schedules of NYS Archives and disclosure pursuant to FOIL.
> >
> > Additionally, a public body restricting access to portions of its website required to be made publicly available by the OML to certain online accounts would, in our view, not be in compliance with the OML.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Miguel-Carlo Bautista
> > Excelsior Fellow
> > Pronouns: he/him/his
> >
> > New York State Committee on Open Government
> > One Commerce Plaza, Albany, NY 12231
> > (518) 474-2518
> > http://www.opengovernment.ny.gov[http://www.opengovernment.ny.gov/]
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: James Lamb <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2025 8:54 AM
> > To: FOIL <foil@albany.edu>
> > Cc: foil@suny.edu; dos.sm.Coog.InetCoog <dosCOOG@dos.ny.gov>; Laurence Socci <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>
> > Subject: Sharepoint Restrictions Constitute Open Meeting Violation
> >
> > ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
> >
> >
> > A student sent me this link because I am the subject of discussions during this Wednesday, January 22, 2025 University at Albany Student Association Student Senate public meeting.
> >
> > <redacted for student privacy>
> >
> > The link takes me to a screen which shows public restrictions.
> >
> > <redacted for student privacy>
> >
> > Sorry, something went wrong
> > Sorry, you cannot access this document. Please contact the person who shared it with you.
> > Technical Details
> > Go back to site
> >
> > I tried accessing with my James.Lamb@alumni.albany.edu[mailto:James.Lamb@alumni.albany.edu] email account but that did not work either.
> >
> > I understand SUNY has an open public data policy and that it is covered by the Open Meetings Law.
> >
> > Why is the public locked out from public meetings recorded through sharepoint? Why is the University censoring speech between students and alumni?
> >
> > This seems to be an open meetings law violation. By copy of this email, I am requesting a COOG advisory opinion on whether this violates the law.
> >
> > Pursuant to FOIL, I request access to this video insofar as my legal rights to pursue defamation is concerned as a matter of 14th Amendment Due Process.
> >
> > /s/ JAMES LAMB
>
>
> > Sent: Friday, January 31, 2025 at 5:41 AM
> > From: "James Lamb" <JimLamb@usa.com>
> > To: UPDCIU <updciu@albany.edu>
> > Cc: pburlingame@albany.edu, "Laurence Socci" <laurence.socci@soccilawfirm.com>
> > Subject: Re: Email Correspondence
> >
> > The state of New York has no personal jurisdiction over me.
> >
> > I am not randomly emailing people at UAlbany. Noone I have sent emails to about Dippikill has asked me to refrain from emailing them so there has been no notice given by them that they do not wish to receive emails from me. All emails are in furtherance of a legitimate purpose, which is for the Student Association to reopen Dippikill and therefore would not constitute the crime you allege even if I were a resident of New York.
> >
> > I am not intimidated in the least and therefore find your email harassing and to be an unlawful attempt to interfere with my political activities baseless. You should cease and desist from further unlawful harassment.
> >
> > It appears UPD is being unknowingly used by one or more parties as a weapon to retaliate against me because I reported misuse of funds to SUNY Central's Fraud Hotline by the Student Association. Use of governmental process for political expediency may be tolerated in New York, but the rest of the country has had it with such abuse and corruption.
> >
> > I am a Dippikill stakeholder and donor. I have a right to engage decision-makers. Be advised attempts by the University to unlawfully limit my free speech under color of law will not be tolerated by me and may result in a 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the University for violation of my 1st Amendment right to petition the University and its components for redress of grievances.
> >
> > The rest you and the UPD Chief copied here will hear directly from my attorney, copied here.
> >
> > /s/ JAMES LAMB
> >
> > > Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 10:01 PM
> > > From: UPDCIU <updciu@albany.edu>
> > > To: "jimlamb@USA.com" <jimlamb@USA.com>
> > > Subject: Email Correspondence
> > >
> > > Mr. Lamb,
> > >
> > > The University Police Department currently has an open criminal investigation alleging that you have sent numerous emails to multiple UAlbany personal email addresses regarding the Dippikill property. If the allegations are confirmed, the frequency and number of emails would violate the NYS Penal Law related to Harassment (section 240.26 sub 03).
> > >
> > > Please utilize appropriate email addresses for any necessary communications with the institution, and most importantly cease using individuals' UAlbany email addresses for unsolicited communication. Examples of appropriate email addresses are, but are not limited to: presmail@albany.edu<mailto:presmail@albany.edu>; foil@albany.edu<mailto:foil@albany.edu> and sa@albany.edu<mailto:sa@albany.edu>. Any continued unsolicited emails to individuals' university email accounts would be considered a form of harassment.
> > >
> > > Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
> > >
> > > Deputy Chief John McGuire
> > > Criminal Investigations Unit
> > > NYS University Police at Albany
> > > 1400 Washington Avenue
> > > Albany, NY 12222
> > > (518) 442-3177 Ph
> > > (518) 442-3399 Fx
> > > www.albany.edu/police<http://www.albany.edu/police>
> > > DRE: 020087
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