On October 28, 2026, at precisely 1:45 p.m., Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith's office distributed a heartwarming announcement.
“District Attorney Shout-Out — Officer Logan Wood.”
Officer Wood, the public was informed, served in Afghanistan twice. He fought terrorists. He returned home, became a police officer, and continued serving his community.
The District Attorney was positively overflowing with gratitude.
“Officer Logan Wood has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to protecting others, and we are grateful for all he does.”
I will be THE LAST PERSON who would denigrate a service member's sacrifice. My husband and I are parents of a U.S. soldier that served in Afghanistan, Iraq and is serving at the Strait of Hormuz now.
I have suffered a LITERAL stroke - the THIRD in a row - after the blast in the airport of Kabul, Afghanistan on August 26, 2021.
On hearing the news that 13 U.S. military members, including soldiers, were killed there, my hair instantly turned white at the ripe old age of 58 - and remained this way.
This is my natural hair color:
As I said, it went INSTANTLY white when I heard on the news about the blast.
Our then-20-year-old U.S. paratrooper son was THERE, helping evacuate people and equipment.
By military regulations, the identities of military personnel who perished, could not be disclosed until families were informed IN PERSON.
IN PERSON.
So, the next frantic two days - until our son was able to call us and notify that he was alive - we were glued to the windows and jumped from the sound of every passing car on our quiet road.
Because we were, with horrified anticipation, waiting for two military officers coming to our house delivering the worst news any parent can suffer during his lifetime.
Our son survived.
It is OTHER parents and OTHER spouses and OTHER sisters and brothers who received the HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE news.
We are grateful our son survived.
My stroke and its consequences, imposed upon two recent previous strokes, COVID-related and stress related (my 85-year-old mother was taken to a hospital in Moscow, with COVID, and disappeared from the radars for several days) - stay with me until this day.
As does my white hair.
So, Officer Wood, if you are reading these lines, what I say here - is NOT about you and is NOT about your service, and I am NOT in ANY way disparaging you or your service, please, be assured.
I HONOR you and your service and your sacrifice - as I do my own son's.
But - as to County's selective treatment of service members and their families:
- How touching.
- How patriotic.
- How very much - Delaware County.
Because on that very same day, Delaware County government was continuing its campaign of litigation against two disabled parents of another American soldier.
A soldier who drew guns instead of butterflies since he was 5 - and was constantly PUNISHED by Delaware Academy for it. Because he WANTED to become a service member since he could walk and talk. But that does not count.
He also served in Afghanistan. In fact, when I ride in a car with him at the wheel - and he has only turned 25 - I feel safer than with any other family member, including myself, at the wheel. He is calm, and he is not daring, but he is a very precise and measured driver. When I addressed his driving skills, taught in the Army, he did not give me much.
He gave me only this: "we are taught to drive anything, Mom, in all conditions, day or night, including very fast so we drive over an exploding mine before it kills us. So - a peaceful road is a treat for me."
He also served in Iraq.
He is still serving, a Fort Bragg paratrooper, now in the Strait of Hormuz.
But to honor him? His parents who raised him?
Nah.
Frederick J. Neroni, 79, permanently disabled.
Tatiana Neroni, 63, disabled following three strokes and other serious medical complications.
Faithful taxpayers of ELEVEN parcels of Delaware County property who NEVER - while possessing indisputable skills of trained and skilled TRIAL LAWYERS - NEVER sued Delaware County over their property rights.
Until during and post-COVID when the County INTERFERED into those rights. Badly.
And then...
You should SEE what kind of repeated GARBAGE the County and its serial perjurer litigation counsel Frank Miller puts in front of the court against us - so far unabated.
Demand after demand for sanctions - at YOUR, dear taxpayers, expense.
Attempt to represent our property ownership constitutional claims as frivolous - while hiding, Delaware County style, pertinent records in the County's exclusive possession from review.
And, the County contests EVEN OUR DISABILITIES - having NO evidence to the contrary that we ARE indeed deeply disabled. The County tried to drag us to mundane motion hearings on motions that did not require a hearing, 1500 miles roundtrip from South Carolina, squeezed us out of federal court because federal court (a judge who employed Frank Miller's employee, Justice Mark Masler's daughter, before and after forced remand), and continued POUNDING and POUNDING and POUNDING, including advancing PERJURY after PERJURY after PERJURY, as shown by the COURT RECORD -
because WHO would prosecute Miller? DA SMITH? Who is a DEFENDANT in that same case and is REPRESENTED by MILLER, who ADVANCES those PERJURIES on Shawn Smith's own BEHALF? It is called, ladies and gentlemen, PUBLIC CORRUPTION. Smith HAD to seek appointment of a special investigator and prosecutor to investigate PROSECUTE MILLER.
But nah - because who would force him to do THAT to HIS OWN litigation counsel?
So Miller continues to parade his "clean disciplinary history" - which was BOUGHT with PUBLIC CORRUPTION over 30 years of representation of the very people who were supposed to investigate and prosecute Miller - or seek appointment of a special investigator or prosecutor if they were as honest and faithful to their jobs as they continuously assure the public they are.
So, Miller continues to run his filthy mouth that my 79-year-old permanently disabled husband - who WIPED THE FLOOR with Miller in his career as a lawyer, TIME after TIME after TIME - can just as well strain himself some more to protect himself from the CONSTANT PERJURIES coming out of Miller's FILTHY PERJURIOUS mouth.
And, the sweetness of Delco hypocrisy never ceased to amaze me - on the SAME day that DA Smith, through Miller, advanced their filthy anti-disability perjurious theories against elderly disabled parents of honorably serving paratrooper - this press release, an accolade to Officer Wood. And - once again, Officer Wood's HONORABLE service in Afghanistan IS NOT QUESTIONED by me in ANY way.
Apparently, Delaware County has two different ways of thanking military families.
One involves a press release.
The other involves THA NERONIS who need to be mowed into the ground, using YOUR taxpayer money, by any means, legal and illegal.
PATRIOTISM, DELAWARE COUNTY STYLE
Because, in Delco government mentality, there is an important difference between Officer Wood and the Neronis' son.
Officer Wood works for local law enforcement.
The Neronis' son has parents who dare to sue local government. In MERITORIOUS, METICULOUSLY PLED lawsuits put together by SUCCESSFUL TRIAL LAWYERS, including Tatiana Neroni, who, in her capacity as civil rights attorney, was the ONLY civil rights attorney in the tri-county area who represented MULTIPLE clients in federal court - including against Delaware County DSS - FOR FREE.
Not to mention Frederick J. Neroni whose phone was always answered - with free consultations if needed, and whose door was open to people, far and wide, 24/7, FOR 37 YEARS - also for FREE consultations - something that the locals do not have anymore after the local government got what they wanted and eliminated law licenses of both.
And there, apparently, lies the dividing line between a veteran worthy of public celebration and a military family whose rights can be fought over, year after year, at public expense.
One serviceman's Afghanistan deployment is a source of official pride.
Another serviceman's Afghanistan and Iraq deployments apparently count for nothing when his disabled parents challenge Delaware County officials.
The County's message could hardly be clearer:
Thank you for your service. Now tell your parents to shut up.
Of course, Delaware County has not actually issued that statement.
It doesn't need to.
Its litigation conduct speaks for itself.
A PERFECTLY TIMED AFTERNOON
The October 28 festivities did not end with the District Attorney's patriotic announcement.
That morning, the Neronis faced another court calendar of 14 (fourteen) motions that the court REFUSED to sparse out or move to an afternoon calendar, despite REPEATED requests of both Neronis based on NIGHTLY SEVERE pains of Mr. Neroni due to his SEVERE disabilities that leave both spouses EXHAUSTED in the morning due to lack of sleep and UNABLE to concentrate for purposes of arguing even ONE motion, much less FOURTEEN at a time.
Among the pending matters were motions seeking sanctions against Neronis - and their dueling motoins for sanctions against Miller and Delco government officials. For which Delco conveniently BARRED the doors to necessary records to Neronis - because GUESS WHAT - Delco KNEW WHAT the Neronis could DO with those records, KNOWING exactly HOW the Neronis WIPED THE FLOOR with those same government officials in court before.
Interestingly, a September 14, 2026 FOIL/1st Amendment request for municipal insurance records of the illustrious Town of Hamden (ALSO represented by MILLER) had remained unanswered for 44 calendar days straight - while being PERTINENT for several motions on the 14-motion calendar.
The requested records concerned an EXPLOSIVE fiscal topic: WHETHER the illustrious Town of Hamden's Attorneys Young and Sommer, currently brow-deep in the conflict-of-interest public controversy regarding construction of a battery storage (BESS) facility in that same Town of Hamden, "serving" both the developer, and the Town (drafting legislature to help the developer, obviously) - added insult to the injury and allowed the current Town of Hamden Supervisor to put his filthy hand deep into the pocket of taxpayers to fund his own private legal defense - BY THE SAME MILLER - through publicly funded insurance carrier NYMIR, in violation of New York State Constitution, Article VIII, Section I, the so-called Gifts and Loans Clause.
So, Marshfield did not comply with discovery on the issue, Miller - RUDELY - denied me disclosure even as to the IDENTITY OF MUNICIPALITY who backed up NYMIR-covered legal defense of Marshfield which became apparent only after Marshfield, through Miller, obtained a sua sponte prejudgment of our entire PENDING litigation docket from a judge who, as a Chenango County DA (Joseph A. McBride) has been adjudicated 20 years ago by the 3rd Department as "maligning" my husband as litigation counsel, which let to (1) reversal of the murder trial (People v Wlasiuk, 2006) and (2) the slowing of DA's advancement to the judicial status - something he could not possibly forgive my husband for.
So, after sitting with their combined butts on the evidence WHO AUTHORIZED MARSHFIELD'S STEALING of THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS from PUBLIC COFFERS on his PRIVATE LEGAL DEFENSE in Neroni v Watershed, EF2026-106 - the Town of Hamden (Cathy Roloson, candidate Shepard's sister) - suddenly coughed up a response - 5 hours after the hearing where that evidence could pertinently be used - concluded.
The hearing was held at 10:00 today.
Cathy Roloson gave birth to a response at 3:19 p.m. AND - Cathy Roloson DID NOT honor my request to CERTIFY her response of "no records" if she wants to claim no records - which she did.
What a coincidence.
Forty-four days to respond.
And the records arrive on the exact date of the hearing — after the hearing.
The Town Clerk reported no responsive records of requests by Hamden for NYMIR-funded legal defense, tenders of claims, requests for indemnification, or litigation-specific NYMIR expenditures.
And did not certify her response - meaning whatever she said means NOTHING.
That raises an obvious question:
If Hamden did not request the defense, who did?
The only OTHER municipality that Marshfield could ask to provide TAXPAYER-PAID PRIVATE legal defense at PUBLIC EXPENSE is DELAWARE COUNTY.
The County and its municipal allies may now find themselves facing additional applications based on the very records produced that afternoon.
Apparently, somebody forgot that email comes with a timestamp. Hearing - 10:00 a.m. Disclosure of "no records" without certification - 3:19 p.m. the same day. They did not even bother to wait a week and pretend. Same day, 5 hours later.
THE PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT AND THE LITIGATION DEPARTMENT
Consider the day's schedule.
Morning: Government lawyers oppose claims brought by disabled litigants, including the parents of an active-duty serviceman.
1:45 p.m.: The District Attorney's Office distributes a patriotic tribute to an Afghanistan veteran employed by local police.
3:19 p.m.: Hamden releases a "three monkeys" uncertified and, very possibly, false response, about WHO COULD AUTHORIZE Marshfield's ILLEGAL DIPPING into TAXPAYERS' POCKETS for his PRIVATE LEGAL DEFENSE - for THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, right now close to 10K.
Delaware County taxpayers - do you have extra 10K for Marshfield's private legal defense? Him and Miller and WHOEVER authorized it - thought so.
One thing I am GLAD about - the HYPOCRISY finally came out full speed.
One county. One day. Two very different attitudes toward military service and military families.
In the press release, military service is noble, heroic, and worthy of public recognition.
In the courthouse, the disabled parents of a soldier who has served in two wars and continues serving his country are treated as litigation adversaries to be defeated.
And the taxpayers get to finance the spectacle.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE — TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY
Perhaps Delaware County should revise its patriotic announcements to include the fine print.
Delaware County proudly supports our troops.
Offer valid only when the servicemember or family does not challenge County officials, seek accountability for government misconduct, demand disability accommodations, or insist upon constitutional rights.
Public gratitude may be withdrawn without notice.
Government-funded litigation may apply.
For additional terms and conditions, contact Frank Miller.
It would certainly be a more candid description of the contrast on display October 28.
Let us be perfectly clear about one thing: Officer Logan Wood deserves recognition for his military service.
So does every American who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, or elsewhere.
But patriotism is not a public-relations accessory to be worn by government officials when convenient and discarded when citizens demand accountability.
The Constitution protects the disabled parents of a soldier just as surely as it protects everyone else.
And Delaware County does not get to substitute patriotic press releases for compliance with the law.
ONE LAST QUESTION FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY SHAWN SMITH
District Attorney Smith says Delaware County is grateful to Officer Wood for his service.
Very well.
What does Delaware County have to say to the American soldier who served in Afghanistan, served in Iraq, and is still serving his country while his disabled parents spend their limited strength and resources fighting Delaware County government in court?
Does the County thank him, too?
Or does gratitude stop at the courthouse door?
October 28, 2026, gave us Delaware County's answer in two emails, ninety-four minutes apart.
At 1:45 p.m., a patriotic salute.
At 3:19 p.m., the delayed release of records potentially relevant to litigation against the County's municipal allies.
God bless our troops.
And God help their parents if they sue Delaware County.
No comments:
Post a Comment