Woodstock maintenance worker Michael Innello is fired. Two members of the town board hand-delivered paperwork to the Ulster County Personnel Department on Monday, August 4, carrying through on a July 22 resolution calling for the Level 3 sex offender’s job termination.
Councilmember Anula Courtis confirmed that she and councilmember Bennet Ratcliff had delivered the personnel change form required to complete his termination. Courtis said the paperwork was accepted and she was told it was effective immediately.
Supervisor Bill McKenna initially said he “heard rumors to that effect,” but later confirmed Innello’s employment had been terminated. “I did talk to Civil Service and told them that it was an invalid resolution, but they had taken him off our roster,” McKenna said. “It’s pretty shameful because we had an agreement to go into arbitration. I hope Anula doesn’t get herself into trouble.”
McKenna and the town-board majority had agreed to hold a fact-finding hearing administered by a certified arbitrator who would determine if Innello could be fired. He expects the CWA, Innello’s union, to file a grievance.
“I’m proud to say we followed the law, respected our process, and put our community first,” Courtis said in an update and video posted on her campaign for town supervisor’s Facebook page. “There may still be next steps. The employee has rights, and the union may or may not challenge the decision. That’s part of how public service works — and we’ll meet it with the same integrity and transparency that guided this entire process.”
Courtis thanked councilmembers Ratcliff and Maria-Elena Conte “for standing up and doing the right thing.” And she thanked “the Woodstock community” for its patience and trust.
Courtis said she had waited to post the update until she received confirmation Innello was not working for the town. She said she had contacted state attorney general Letitia James’ and county DA Emmanuel Nneji’s offices as well as Innello’s parole supervisor.
Courtis, Ratcliff and Conte voted July 22 to terminate Innello’s employment after finding out McKenna gad withheld information about Innello’s conviction on charges of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old female while she was unconscious and for possessing child pornography.
McKenna said he was aware of Innello’s past and believes in giving people second chances. He has maintained the resolution was illegal and Innello’s past was not a valid reason for termination.
Parents and others have spoken out against Innello’s presence at the Andy Lee Field pool because his parole restrictions forbade him any contact with minors. McKenna said that Innello’s presence had been a one-time occurrence while the maintenance department was short-staffed in preparing the pool for the season.
Innello served just over four years of a five-year prison sentence and was released in December 2024 to parole supervision through 2034.
Courtis said it had been necessary for her and Ratcliff to complete and deliver the termination paperwork because McKenna had failed to carry out the wishes of the town board for him to fire Innello. She added yhat McKenna’s failure to file the paperwork fit with a pattern of behavior to delay big items until there were no options.
“He completely disregarded the town-board vote. He doesn’t get to ignore that,” Courtis said.
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