The Republican candidate for Irondequoit town supervisor, who is the town’s former assessor, has been indicted on charges of official misconduct and violating a town conflict of interest statute.
Anthony Costanza is accused of having “willfully used his municipal position or official powers and duties to secure a financial or material benefit for himself,” according to court filings signed by District Attorney Sandra Doorley. The documents, filed Friday, stated that the purported incident occurred on April 9, 2024.
Just what exactly Costanza is being accused of is not clear. On April 9, 2024, Costanza was in the midst of reviewing the previous year's townwide reassessment. It was the first assessment Costanza had performed for the town.
The misconduct charge is a misdemeanor. The conflict of interest and a third count alleging misuse of his municipal position for personal gain, would be violations of town code.
In July 2024, the town of Irondequoit released a letter from Costanza where he sought to address public concerns about the assessment of his own home being lowered. That happened after he challenged its 2023 assessment and went through the grievance process.
In the letter, Costanza said he had reached out to his peers in the town government on how to grieve his assessment as the assessor himself, a process he acknowledges has never been done before.
Costanza’s assessment was reduced from $200,000 to $170,000 after that grievance process. The letter also included an apology to constituents over the perception that he had done something “nefarious.”
Town Supervisor Andraé Evans had forwarded the matter to the New York state Inspector General and the town’s own internal auditor. Neither found evidence of criminal conduct and declined to pursue the matter further.
Evans, a first-term Democratic supervisor, has been embroiled in a sexual harassment and retaliation scandal beginning with the release of an investigative report in January. That incident has resulted in Evans being censured and him filing a lawsuit against the town board over the restrictions placed on him. Evans failed to get enough petition signatures to qualify for Tuesday's Democratic primary.
In a statement posted to his Facebook page Friday evening, Costanza denied any wrongdoing, and claimed the charges are politically motivated.
“I categorically deny all allegations of wrongdoing,” Costanza wrote. “The evidence will show I executed my duties as the Town of Irondequoit Assessor within all laws and beyond reproach. These charges are 100% politically motivated. I look forward to my day in court. A full statement will be provided on our website in the coming days.”
Doorley is currently a registered Republican and has been for over a decade. She was a registered Democrat up until 2015, when she switched party affiliation during her run for a second term in office.
John Perticone, a town board member and the designated Democratic candidate for town supervisor, said Costanza quit in January.
“We were told it was for health reasons,” Perticone said. “You can probably read between the lines on that.”
In a statement, Monroe County Republican Committee Chair Patrick Reilly sought to distance the party from Costanza.
“Anthony Constanza only switched parties to Republican in February to run for Irondequoit Supervisor against disgraced Democrat Supervisor Andre Evans,” Reilly said. “He was only able to do this because of a political vacuum that was created when former Supervisor Rory Fitzpatrick left the Irondequoit political stage.”
