Where do former Utica schools superintendent Bruce Karam's legal issues stand? A roundup
There’s been lots of legal action surrounding former Utica school Superintendent Bruce Karam in the last month, in county, state and federal court.
He was sentenced for a felony conviction of public corruption as part of a plea agreement last Friday in Oneida Couty Court.
A state justice dismissed a lawsuit against Karam by the school district as moot.
And lawyers for the defendants in a federal lawsuit filed by Karam, his last pending line of redress against the district, used his conviction to argue against the court allowing Karam to amend his original suit.
Bruce Karam's legal issues: The backstory
Here’s a quick look back at the history that led to the latest news:
In 2021, Karam had his staff send out flyers on behalf of a school board candidate, using work time and school supplies to do so. He admitted to this in his allocution.
In 2022, he allowed his staff to do the same thing for mailings former school board President Louis LaPolla sent out for a fundraiser for a scholarship fund in his wife’s memory, which Karam also admitted in his allocation.
LaPolla was also indicted for his role in the scholarship flyers, reached a plea deal and was sentenced on April 10 to 60 days in domicile restrictions, three years of probation and the payment of $3,100 in restitution. (LaPolla also faces six federal counts of mail fraud in another case related to the scholarship fund.)
In a separate case, two district administrators filed complaints against Karam for allegedly creating a hostile workplace in 2022.
The school board voted 4-3 on Oct. 18, 2022, to place Karam on administrative leave while a third-party investigator looked into the complaints. It also hired Brian Nolan as acting superintendent.
The investigator turned in a report in January 2023 that accused Karam of inappropriate behavior that rose to “bullying,” and determined that the behavior merited discipline, possibly up to termination.
Karam appealed the report but lost the appeal.
Karam filed a lawsuit in state court in December 2022 against the Utica City School District, the school board, Nolan and the four school board members who voted to put him on leave: President Joseph Hobika Jr., Vice President Danielle Padula, James Paul and Tennille Knoop. The lawsuit asked the court to void the votes to put Karam on leave, to hire Nolan and a special counsel. Karam later agreed during a court appearance to drop the individual defendants.
On Jan. 4, 2023, Karam filed a federal lawsuit against the same defendants asking for compensatory and punitive damages. The suit claims that the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to discredit and oust Karam, violating both his contract and the Constitution in the process, and that Nolan made public comments defaming Karam.
Lawyers for the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the federal suit on March 30, 2023, which is still pending.
Justice Scott DelConte dismissed Karam’s state lawsuit in April 2023, writing in his opinion that Karam’s contract was not breached and open meetings laws were not violated, as Karam had alleged.
The school district and school board filed a state suit against Karam on August 24, 2023, in which they asked the judge to declare Karam’s contract invalid, making him an at-will employee who can be fired by a simple majority vote of the board. Their argument was based on five addendums extending Karam’s contract, which added between six weeks and three months more to Karam’s contract than the five years allowed by state law.
Karam filed a motion to amend his federal suit on Feb. 8, 2024, to include his termination and other events that happened after he originally filed the suit.
On Nov. 27, 2023, the school voted 5-2 to fire Karam, who had been superintendent since 2011, without waiting for a decision in its court case.
The sentencing
Karam apologized in court for his actions that led to the conviction.
“What brought me before you is a matter that should not have happened,” Karam told Judge Michael Dwyer. “I regret that it did happen. I accept responsibility. I apologize to you, to the court, the community, the district. Most of all, I apologize to my family for the heartache that I have caused them.”
Oneida County District Attorney Todd Carville said he’s satisfied with the outcome of the case.
“He publicly admitted his guilt. He paid back what we believe he took from the school system from the funds in that $11,549.68 restitution (for which he gave the court a check on Friday),” Carville said. “He lost a portion of his pension benefits that he would have otherwise enjoyed. He has a felony conviction. He owes 250 hours of community service. He has to serve five years of probably.
“And he’s no longer in a position of power and I believe that constitutes being held accountable.”
For the pension giveback, Karam will pay the court $150,000 by May 17, Carville said.
That is the amount by which his pension will have increased since Karam engaged in criminal activity in March of 2021, as determined by actuaries, Carville said. In other words, Karam will still be paid his full pension, but he’s paying back ahead of time all the money he’ll get based on his work after March, 2021.
School district response
The school district released a statement acknowledging Karam’s sentencing and declaring that the district is on the road to closing “this challenging chapter.”
“The restitution from these proceedings (including the pension money) will be directed back towards educating our students—those from whom these resources were unjustly diverted,” the statement read. “The Utica City School District will utilize these funds to directly support and enhance learning opportunities for our students in need.
Throughout these proceedings, our district has faced significant financial burdens. The recovery of these funds is a crucial step towards alleviating some of the financial pressures and reinvesting in our educational mission.”
The district has been making improvements in its operating structure and putting both guardrails and layers of checks and balances in place “to strengthen and fortify the foundation of our school district operations and administration,” the statement continued.
Federal lawsuit
Karam’s conviction changes the complexion of the case, lawyers for the school board, school district and Nolan; for Padula; for Hobika; and for Paul have argued in memoranda of law urging the court not to accept Karam’s amended complaint to include his termination.
The papers go through a variety of legal arguments, but in essence, they argue that Karam wasn’t harmed financially by being fired because he couldn’t hold the superintendent’s job as a convicted felon. And his reputation wasn’t harmed because he confessed to a felony, which makes him “libel proof,” the lawyers argued.
Karam’s lawyers haven’t filed a response yet. And lawyer Giancarlo Facciponte said he couldn’t comment on the federal case.
District lawsuit
But Facciponte did refer to the state Supreme Court decision last week as a victory.
Justice Julie Grow Denton dismissed the case as moot given that the school board had fired Karam without waiting for the court to rule on the validity of his contract. At one time, a decision in the case may have influenced the board’s decision, but “that ship has sailed,” she noted.
The courts cannot answer questions that can no longer resolve anything, Denton wrote.
Her dismissal leaves open the question of the validity of Karam’s contract.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Bruce Karam: Former Utica superintendent's lawsuits, criminal case
