Letitia James Gets Served With Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit Involving South Blooming Grove

Maderia v. Letitia James asks the New York State Attorney General why she's allowing a dictatorship to operate a small village in Upstate New York.

Pictured Above: You can read this article, or you can watch twenty-four minutes of Wile E. Coyote trying — and failing — to catch the Roadrunner. I won’t judge you either way. But God will.

---

There’s a lot to be said about New York Attorney General Letitia James. But I’m trying to keep these posts short. So it’s easier to say she’s just like the rest of the New York State Democratic Party: Either unable or unwilling to stand up to powerful groups within New York State. Why? Because, if she did, it would harm her own political aspirations.

Some of you may quickly want to blame our Haredi Brothers and Sisters for Mrs. James’ inaction, but not so fast. New York State ranked 43rd out of 50 in terms of voter participation according to data provided by the U.S. Elections Project and analyzed by NYPIRG. So, you can blame the “Bloc Vote” all you want. But statistically speaking, not enough of you get out and vote.

And like I keep saying here at The Monroe Gazette, since 1972, Southern Orange County has repeatedly failed to form a political counterweight to that “Bloc Vote.” Which, if such an organization existed, would certainly help in getting Mrs. Letitia James’ attention to things like what’s happening in South Blooming Grove. You’ll notice, for example, that regulating and acting on not-for-profits falls under Letitia James’s purview as AG. Despite having their not-for-profit status revoked in 2022 by the IRS, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove has been allowed to operate. Raising money and engaging in local and state politics. Despite residents asking her office to do so, she hasn't looked into that.

And despite there being clear rules concerning the political activities of not-for-profits. Stern and Ekstein’s UJC was also granted a permit by the State DEC as part of the Clovewood project, even though it’s unclear what — if any — training Mr. Stern or Mr. Ekstein have in managing endangered timber rattlesnakes. (Your guess is as good as mine.) Not to mention, there’s no evidence that any such organization known as the United Jewish Community Village of South Blooming Grove Emergency Response Division actually exists. Yet it received a permit from the DEC. (The DEC has declined to respond to questions concerning the United Jewish Community Village of South Blooming Grove Emergency Response Division, citing litigation against it by the Town of Blooming Grove.) Mrs. James’s office has been silent on this as well.

That’s not to say both political parties here in New York State would suddenly be responsive if more of us voted. They’re both corrupt. Here’s a recent example involving Jay Jacobs, who is the Chairman of the New York State Democratic Party. Recently, Mr. Jacobs's former Chief of Staff, Chris Melynczuk, was hired to work for the lobbying firm of McBride Consulting and Business Development Group. (Mr. Jacobs did not reply to questions submitted by The Monroe Gazette asking if Mr. Melynczuk's working for a lobbying firm presented a conflict of interest.)

Does that mean McBride Consulting and Business Development Group is evil? Nope. But, does hiring the Chief of Staff for the Chair of the New York State Democratic Party — in a state where the Democratic Party controls the Assembly, Senate, and the Executive Branch — create a conflict of interest? You bet it does. That sure seems like something the New York State Democratic Party could fix legislatively, but they haven’t.

Can’t imagine why that would be …

Don’t worry. The New York State Republicans aren’t any better. They’re too busy pulling stunts — we will talk about their most recent one in Albany soon, where many believe they taped swastikas to their own front door and pretended to be victims of vandalism — and suing so that they can keep making money from outside work. Despite simultaneously holding jobs as elected officials. Which, if we’re honest here, is pretty outrageous. Given that New York State’s elected officials are the highest paid in America. The state Republicans lost in court recently on maintaining their large flow of outside money, but keep an eye on that story. It may not be dead yet.

So, yes. We don’t vote, which gives Letitia James the excuse to ignore us. That’s true. But it’s also true that these parties are both fundamentally broken, and we need to vote out anyone from either party who stands in the way of cleaning up this system of ours.

I wanted to say that upfront because it’s impossible to discuss the rest of this story without doing so.

What Is A Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit?

When you represent yourself in court, it’s called “pro se” (Latin for “for oneself.) There are many instances in the local, state, and federal court systems where someone represents themselves. Usually, this is because they can’t afford a good lawyer, which is most of us. That’s because the majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

But there’s a particular brand of pro se lawsuits that I call a Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit. That’s because, according to the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, you’re likely to lose when representing yourself between 80% and 90% of the time. Between 2000 and 2018, with one exception, there were no more than 80,000 pro se lawsuits filed each year in U.S. District Courts. So, between the low success rate and low number of ones that do get filed, Wile E. Coyote Lawsuits can be rare.

So, a Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit is when you represent yourself in suing either the government, in this case, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, or another large entity, with little hope of succeeding.

Wile E. Coyote Lawsuits tend to be the domain of crazy people. But not always. And we shouldn’t dismiss them when they do get filed. Given how bad the S&P 500 is looking, I suspect you’ll see more and more people turn to Wile E. Coyote Lawsuits because they can’t afford to do much else.

---

Want to Support Our Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit?

We have been joking (for now) about filing one of these things against Governor Kathy Hochul. But here’s something that’s no joke: The pressure from Monroe Gazette readers is working. Governor Kathy Hochul is showing signs of backing off from Fascist State Senator Skoufis's Pro-Trump Mask Ban.

If you live in New York State, call Hochul's office at 518-474-8390, and demand she withdraw her support of Skoufis's Pro-Trump Mask ban.

Tell Hochul's staff:

New York State Democrats should not empower the Trump administration and harm New Yorkers who want to exercise their First Amendment right to protest. And that's exactly what the Pro-Trump Skoufis mask ban will do.

Then consider supporting The Monroe Gazette. It costs way less than Netflix’s commercial-free options, you get access to our archive, the ability to comment on these articles, and access to our Private Facebook Group.

---

South Blooming Grove’s First (But Not Last) Wile E. Coyote Lawsuit

As readers know, The Monroe Gazette has repeatedly tried to get clarification from the Village of South Blooming Grove concerning the lack of a duly elected mayor. The Village, and its attorneys at Monaco Cooper Lamme & Carr, PLLC (Laura M. Gulfo and Nora M. Murphy) have refused to respond to these requests. Neither has Village Attorney Scott Ugell. So it’s unclear what Mr. Ugell does for his $75,000 a year salary.

When asked about the lack of a duly elected mayor, the New York Department of State essentially told us, “You should sue and find out what a judge says.”

Village Clerk, Kerry Dougherty, failed to hold an election as required by law in March of 2024 for Village Mayor. The Village AGAIN failed to hold an election in March of 2025 involving Village Trustees Asher Guttman and Zalmon Rosner. Both, by the way, figure prominently in the Village’s outreach efforts to New York State Department of Transportation. Efforts involving the construction of a shoulder on New York 208. There is also more than a little exaggeration in both men’s emails. Whether or not it rises to the level of fraud is for you to decide.

And yes, that is indeed Congressman Pat Ryan and State Senator James G. Skoufis being copied on these emails. Both Congressman Ryan and State Senator Skoufis were copied on nearly every single email to the New York State DOT from Isaac Ekstein that was provided to The Monroe Gazette by the DOT.

Sadly, the DOT declined to provide any emails about removing the illegal turning lane, citing intragency exemptions to New York State’s FOIL law. A law State Senator Skoufis could fix at any time, but can only be bothered to adjust it on the margins.

Now, as you know, I have a lot to say about Mr. Chris Maderia. But I’ve also agreed not to say those things here. The reason is pretty simple: South Blooming Grove is now clearly, much like America, a dictatorship. Instead of the mentally deficient and cognitively impaired Donald Trump, we’ve got George Kalaj. And instead of the ketamine addled South African racist who should be deported, Elon Musk, we have Isaac Ekstein and Joel Stern. It’s the same thing, on a much smaller scale. Mr. Maderia doesn’t think they’re the same thing, but again, I will keep my opinions to myself. But. Since that means there’s also no upcoming election in South Blooming Grove, it wouldn’t be fair to criticize Mr. Maderia either, since he can’t run for office when the Village seemingly refuses to hold one.

That brings us to the Wile E. Coyote lawsuit Mr. Maderia filed, known as CHRISTOPHER J MADERIA v. LETICIA JAMES et al.

The Complaint Against Letitica James

Maderia points out in his complaint, like we have, that Mayor Kalaj, Trustee Weiss, and Trustee Feldman’s term of office expired in March of 2024. He goes on to state that Rosner and Guttman’s term in office expired in March of 2025. Maderia says he brought these complaints to the Village Board and the Trustees directly, but he did not receive a response in classic South Blooming Grove fashion.

The Attorney General’s office responded to Maderia’s complaint with a motion to dismiss. This gets a little complicated. But basically, Maderia is saying Letitia James MUST act, and the Attorney General’s office is saying there is no requirement for the Attorney General to take any action. She has the option to take action, but she is not required to use that option. Make sense? And yes, I think that’s bullshit and a way for the Attorney General to weasal out of doing her job too.

Maderia agrees. He correctly points out that the Attorney General’s office failed to identify why she declined to take any action, and that there’s enough evidence to compel her to do so. (The Attorney General’s office has not replied to any inquiries by The Monroe Gazette concerning South Blooming Grove. In the past, as we’ve previously reported, Mrs. James’s office is; however, quick to brag about the actions she has taken on behalf of our Haredi brothers and sisters.)

What Happens Next?

The good news is that the case is now before a Judge, Bret Broge. Whom, unlike Judge Sheri Eisenpress, doesn’t have a long history of scandal and favoritism toward our Haredi brothers and sisters. Mrs. Eisenpress was just assigned to the Town of Blooming Grove’s case versus the Village of South Blooming Grove. (That assignment, by the way, was flagged as unusual to us by a concerned attorney.)

If I were a Town of Blooming Grove resident, I’d be absolutely screaming at Brian Nugent to file a motion for Mrs. Eisenpress to recuse herself immediately. But then again, Nugent has previously donated to Eisenpress’s election campaigns. So if you don't say anything, he probably won’t.

In an upcoming post, we’ll discuss that court case and Mrs. Eisenpress’s long history of scandal.

As far as the Wile E. Coyote lawsuit filed by Mr. Maderia, I recommend South Blooming Grove residents follow it closely. And if/when a court date is scheduled, you can and should show up. While many of us may have strong feelings about Mr. Maderia, it’s patently obvious that Letitia James is putting her political career ahead of New York State residents. And while Mrs. James won’t be in that courtroom, Judge Bret Broge will be. And it’s important for him to see that residents are concerned about the unequal treatment and application of the laws here in New York State.