Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that Saugerties officials initially denied a request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law for the retirement and/or resignation records of former Police Chief Joseph Sinagra when he resigned last month. But on Sept. 18, the Saugerties town clerk released what she said was Sinagra’s entire retirement notice: a four-sentence email sent from a personal account to her and an administrative assistant for the chief. The Aug. 9 message said, “Please be advised that I am making notification of my retirement from the Town of Saugerties. My last day of employment will be Sunday September 24, 2023. I will be exercising all rights provided under Articles 7, 8, and 9 of the Chiefs CBA with the Town. Mary, I will reach out to you relative to the payouts.” That message was sent to Town Clerk Lisa Stanley and Mary Mirabella, the administrative assistant for the police chief. The email resignation came while Sinagra was suspended during an ongoing Ulster County district attorney’s office investigation of sexual assault and harassment allegations against an officer and the department’s handling of that case. Stanley denied the original Freedom of Information Law request for privacy reasons. An official with the state Committee on Open Government said the town would have a difficult time making that argument in court. Read more about this story in the Times Union.