Steve Hughes reports for the Times Union that Emily Vincent filed a lawsuit Feb. 5 against the Town of Berne in southern Albany County, after she was removed from the Planning Board last month without a required public hearing. Vincent was made an alternate on the Planning Board, a position she says doesn’t exist. Vincent was replaced by someone who was not on the board and who, previously as a judge, was convicted of extortion and bribery. Thomas Spargo was made the board’s chairperson, after spending more than two years in prison in 2009. “We know he has paid his debt. He’s doing all the things to expunge the record and clear his name,” new Berne Supervisor Sean Lyons told the Times Union last month. “He’s a really good fit for the Planning Board.” Lyons would not comment about the lawsuit. Read more about this story in the Times Union.