Download - Deposition Excerpts.pdf”
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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Video Deposition of MARY MAIORIELLO
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTNORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK----------------------------------------------XP.C. as Administrator of the Estate ofher son K.C.,
Plaintiff,
-against- 5:12 Civ. 1171
LISA TAYLOR, LAURI TOMASSI, SHARON BUTLER,ERIC SADLON, LEKISHA TERRELL, "HERSHANI" DOE,and JOHN AND JANE DOES 1-20,
Defendants.----------------------------------------------X
VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION of a Non-Party Witness,
MARY MAIORIELLO, held on October 23, 2014,
commencing at 10:40 a.m., at the New York State
Attorney General's Office, Justice Building, 4th
Floor Conference Room, Albany, New York, pursuant
to Subpoena; before Susan Florio, a Registered
Professional Reporter and Notary Public in and for
the State of New York.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
MR. DAGUE: Objection.
Q. And that was in October 2010, right?
A. Correct.
Q. But this is abuse that you had witnessed
for months before, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And so can you just tell me the reason or
the reasons why you didn't feel comfortable coming
forward?
A. Because I was terrified to come forward
and say anything. I was told by Sharon Butler on
one of my first days that I would do fine at O.D.
Heck as an employee if I kept my eyes open and
mouth shut.
Another day K came home. I believe he
had gone to the hospital. He walked in. He had
the biggest black eye I've ever seen in my life
and I said, "Oh, my God, what happened," and I
was told to shut up.
Q. By?
A. By Sharon Butler. I was told, "He fell."
And I said, "He fell?" Because oh, my God, he
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
had this giant black eye. What do you -- who
falls on their eye? And she said, "Shut up."
So, I shut up. And I saw what they could do to
somebody who was helpless and frail and non-verbal
and vulnerable. What were they going to do to me?
I was scared. I was wrong for doing that and I
was scared.
Q. By the way, to get off probation after 9
to 12 months, is one thing that State of New York
would look at are evaluations from your supervisors?
A. Yes.
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
Q. And so were the very people who were
abusing KC the same people who were going to help
decide whether you got to keep your job?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. I believe so.
Q. Was that your belief at the time?
A. Yes. Definitely. I'm not -- yes.
Q. Now, I think you said New York State was
writing your paycheck when you worked there,
right?
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
holding the door open so her back was to the
dining room where K was sitting at the table with
his plate by himself. At some point during the
morning, during breakfast, he threw it. It went
flying. It was pureed food so it's everywhere.
So, she became angry because, you know, she had
to clean it up, she had to do something about it.
She didn't want to do anything. Well, it appeared
she didn't want to do anything because she was
not doing her job.
Q. So, what did Sharon do when K threw his
food?
A. Sharon took K, held on to him, brought
him over to the gym mat, left him on the gym mat
and told him he was not going to eat until -- he
was not having any more breakfast, he was not
going to eat until lunch. We do not throw our
food. And that's the end of it. And that he
would learn if that's what she did.
Q. Okay. And then you wrote, still AG 5388,
you wrote, "Throughout the day I witnessed Sharon
yell at him, call him the sparrow and the thing,
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
hit him with the towel and the blue stick."
A. Um-hmm.
Q. Did I read that accurately?
A. Yes.
Q. And that's all true?
A. Yes.
Q. And so you saw Sharon Butler call K the
thing?
A. Yes.
Q. And was that something she did frequently?
A. Yes. The thing, the sparrow. Yes.
Q. And can you give examples of how Sharon
would call K the thing?
A. The thing over here. I mean, she
referred to him as the thing, you know. "It."
It's getting off the mat again. The thing is up.
The thing threw his plate. The sparrow threw his
plate. Instead of K threw his plate or K got off
the mat, it was the thing, sparrow, it. That's
how.
Q. So, Sharon referred to K as "it" as well?
A. Yes.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. All right. And you also wrote here that
Sharon hit K with a towel on that day. Can you
describe that?
A. Yes. She wrapped up a towel and hit him
with it when he was crawling off the mat.
Q. And why did she do that?
A. Because she didn't want him to get off
the mat. That's what it appeared. From what I
saw it appeared she wanted him to stay on the mat
for her convenience and that was her way of
keeping him there.
Q. And had you seen Sharon hit K with a
towel before?
A. I believe so, yes.
Q. And you also wrote that K hit -- I'm
sorry. Withdrawn.
You also wrote that Sharon Butler hit K
with a blue stick?
A. Yup. The couches, the way the couches
were set in the common area/living room, they had
a groove on the top. There was two, there was a
little groove between the two cushions and she
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
would keep the stick right there in the groove.
She would sit in her little rolley chair with
wheels. The mat would be to the left of her.
The television was in front. She'd be watching
television. And when K would act up, she would
do things like hit him with a towel if she had a
towel or she would grab the stick from the groove
and hit him with it.
Q. Okay. And so when K tried to get off the
mat was one of Sharon Butler's ways to keep him
on the mat to hit him with the stick?
A. It appeared that way.
Q. And that's something you saw for a period
of months?
A. Yes. Not just her but, yes.
Q. Okay. We'll get to -- there's another
statement.
A. Okay. I'm sorry. Yes.
Q. With a lot of other people too.
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Then you wrote, "K signed food/eat
and was headed toward the water fountain. Sharon
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
off the mat. She very casually stepped on both
of his hands and in a neutral tone told K to stay
on the mat." Did I read that accurately?
A. Yes.
Q. And you witnessed that as well?
A. Yes.
Q. So, can you describe in your own words
what you saw Lekisha Terrell do?
A. Yes. I can. K was -- again, the gym mat
was on the ground and, as I said previously, he
liked to crawl. He was crawling, had his hands
off the mat. She walked up to him in a very
nonchalant, very casual way, and put one foot on
one hand and the other foot on the other hand and
said, I think she said something along the lines
of get back on the mat or move back or something
like that and he casually... But she did it so
nonchalant and so casually that it was just -- it
appeared very casual. I mean, like she didn't,
you know, yell, she didn't make a scene. She
just went over there and stepped on him.
Q. Okay. And when Ms. Terrell stepped on
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
K's hands did she have shoes on?
A. Yes.
Q. And K was on his hands and knees at that
point?
A. Yes. He was.
Q. And he was on the mat?
A. I think his hands were off the mat, his
body was on the mat.
Q. And so Lekisha Terrell put all her weight
on K?
A. Yes.
Q. And how did K react?
A. He pulled back and cowered back, like he
would cower back in the corner when he was, not
all the time but that time he did.
Q. Okay. And did K appear afraid?
A. Afraid, angry, upset. It was hard to
tell exactly what emotion it was. Hurt maybe. I
mean, he cowered in a corner.
MR. DAGUE: Just lodge an objection
on that last question. Sorry for my delay.
Q. And did you believe K was in pain when
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Lekisha Terrell stepped on his hands?
A. Yes.
MR. DAGUE: Object to form.
Q. Do you have any doubt about that?
A. No.
Q. And did Ms. Terrell, did she just
accidentally --
A. No.
Q. -- step on K's hands?
A. No.
Q. Or was it deliberate?
MR. DAGUE: Object to form.
A. It was deliberate.
Q. Explain.
A. Explain? She walked right up to him,
looked at him, put one foot on one hand and
the other foot on the other hand in a very
deliberate -- I mean, if you step on somebody's
hand you know it. It was deliberate. She put
one foot and then put the other foot right after
onto his hands. There was no -- she didn't trip
over him, she didn't fall. She put her feet on
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
her -- on his hands and then took her feet off
his hands.
Q. And is this abuse?
A. I think it's abuse.
Q. And what words would you describe what
Ms. Terrell did? Would you say it was cruel what
she did?
A. Yes.
Q. Sadistic?
MR. DAGUE: Object to form.
A. Yeah. Definitely cruel and -- inhumane?
Maybe that's a better word. Inhumane.
Q. Another statement that you gave on
October 20th, 2010, written statement is at
Exhibit 277, 5389 and 5390, right?
MR. DAGUE: Was that 277 still,
Ilann?
MR. MAAZEL: Yes.
A. It's the next page. Right?
Q. Next page and page after that.
A. Okay.
Q. Okay. And is this another -- is this
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
statement also your handwriting?
A. Yes. It is.
Q. And is this statement also true?
A. Yes. It is.
Q. And based on your own personal
observations?
A. Yes.
Q. And, again, you prepared this statement
all on your own?
A. Correct.
Q. No help from anyone, right?
A. No.
Q. And so let's go through this one. You
wrote, "Since I have been working days on 9D I
have witnessed abuse several times for KC. K is
regularly referred to as or called 'it,' 'the
thing,' 'the sparrow,' 'the walking plague.'"
I'll just stop there.
A. Okay.
Q. And you witnessed all of that, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And tell me some of the staff that you
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
saw call KC "it," "the thing," "the sparrow" or
"the walking plague"?
A. Sharon Butler, Laurie Toma- -- I don't
know her last name.
Q. Tomassi?
A. Tomassi. Lisa Taylor.
Q. Did you see Eric Sadlon call K names as
well sometimes?
A. Yes. Eric has called -- yes. I can't
remember anything, anyone else at this time.
Well, yeah, I'd have to read through this.
Q. And so these people, Sharon, Laurie,
Lisa, Eric, called K names?
A. Correct.
Q. And the names you remember are "it," "the
thing," "the sparrow" and "the walking plague"?
A. Correct.
Q. Where did this "walking plague" come
from?
A. It was my understanding that they thought
he was gross. He wore a pull up. None of the
other consumers -- well, I take that back. I
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. Like they would call him "it" to his
face?
A. Yes.
Q. How would Sharon, Laurie, Lisa and Eric
do that?
A. Instead of his name they would say "it,"
you know. "Come on, it's time to go." Get up
"it." It, you know, it -- they would replace his
name with the word "it" or if they weren't
directing it at him or they were talking to
someone right in front of him, oh, it's time to
get the sparrow, come on, or things of that
nature. They would call him "it," "it." He was
never called K. He was never called K. He was
called all these others things in place, whether
it was -- and, yes, he was in the room. And he
could hear. You know, they would have conversations
right in front of him and use those terms in place
of his name.
Q. And your next sentence on AG 5389 you
wrote, "It is made clear among staff on 9D that
they do not like K and often say he 'should go
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
the times they would hit him.
Q. Okay. So, did Sharon Butler hit K with
the stick to keep him on the mat?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Laurie Tomassi hit K with the stick
to keep him on the mat?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Lisa Taylor hit K with the stick to
stay on the mat?
A. Yes.
Q. Did Eric Sadlon hit K with the stick to
keep him on the mat?
A. Yes.
Q. And they did this on a number of occasions?
A. Yes.
Q. Is this abuse?
A. I --
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. I believe it's abuse.
Q. And so was K just kept on the mat almost
all the time except for meals and changing?
A. Yes.
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. And what did the staff do while K was on
the mat? What were they doing?
A. Talking amongst each other, watching
television, playing games on their phones. There
was one woman on the unit who was not assigned to
K, but she would knit blankets and washcloths and
towels and such. Eat. Whatever they felt like
doing, watch -- you know, just hang out.
Q. Okay. And this went on for hours at a
time that Sharon, Laurie, Lisa and Eric would
just leave K alone on the mat?
A. Yeah. They had that chair on wheels and
whoever was assigned to K generally had the chair
on wheels so they could be right there and if
they chose to put the stick in the couch groove
they could be, you know, have quick access and,
yeah.
Q. And where did Sharon, Laurie, Lisa and
Eric hit K with the blue stick when they did
that?
A. Well, if he was crawling off the mat it
would generally be his back area, shoulders,
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
enough -- hitting with enough force to show that
they were in control. But you could hear it.
So, could it have left a black and blue mark?
Could have. Did it? I don't know.
Q. Okay. You then wrote, still AG 5389, "I
heard the stick referred to as the magic wand by
the supervisor, Lisa Taylor."
A. Yes.
Q. And that is true?
A. That is true.
Q. Can you describe that?
A. Yup. It was -- yes. I remember an
occasion where we were in the living room area
and the stick was in the end table closest to
the -- well, closest to the exit that went to the
patio and she was looking for the stick and she
said where's my magic wand, and I had no idea
what she was talking about, and then she opened
the drawer and pulled the stick out and she said
something, I have, you know, my magic wand or
something to that nature. And -- she was looking
for her magic wand and what she produced was the
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
blue stick from that drawer.
Q. And that was the blue stick that she had
hit K with?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you remember whether other people
referred to the blue stick as the magic wand?
A. I don't recall any. No. I don't recall.
Q. Okay. Then you wrote, "I have seen
towels and washcloths and socks put in K's face
and mouth when he spits by Laurie Tomassi and
Sharon Butler."
A. Um-hmm.
Q. Is that true?
A. That is true.
Q. And can you describe that?
A. Yup. I can. Yes. I can. He would
often spit if he was upset for, you know,
whatever reason. And, I mean, he spit on
himself. He couldn't even spit. So, why this
bothered them so much. I think, again, it was a
control thing, but he would spit and they would
tell him, "We don't spit here on 9D. We don't do
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
that on 9D," and they would shove whatever, the
sock, the washcloth, the towel in his face, in
his mouth and tell him, that we don't spit on 9D,
we don't do this here.
Q. And would K sometimes gag when they
stuffed --
A. Yeah.
Q. -- socks and washcloths into his mouth?
A. Yeah.
Q. And can you describe what would happen
when Laurie Tomassi and Sharon Butler would stuff
socks and washcloths in K's mouth and he would
gag? Could you just describe that, what did you
see?
A. Describe what K looked like?
Q. What K did and what they did.
A. If K spit, they would get a washcloth and
towel, like I said, and put it in his face, in
his mouth, and tell him, "We don't do this on
9D," and K would, you know, back up, gag.
I'm not sure that I'm understanding your
question.
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. And how long would that last? Maybe I
should ask that.
A. Five to ten seconds.
Q. So, was this another way for staff to
assert control over K?
A. It appeared that way.
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
Q. And you wrote, "I have also seen Laurie
and Sharon hit K with towels." Is that true?
A. That is true.
Q. And that's Laurie Tomassi and Sharon
Butler?
A. Correct.
Q. And can you describe, can you describe
that?
A. Yeah. Again, in an effort to keep him on
the mat they would wrap up a towel and they would
fling it at him and hit him with it (indicating).
Q. And where would they hit K with the towels,
if you remember?
A. I don't remember. Wherever was -- it
wasn't -- they weren't aiming for any specific
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
spot. They would roll up the towel and hit him
with it. K would continue acting or and they'd
probably hit him again or he would cower back and
cower in the corner. It was no really -- those
were the two -- he would either continue and they
would continue or he would cower back and they'd
"win."
Q. Did Laurie Tomassi and Sharon Butler hit
K with towels hard enough that you would expect K
to experience pain?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. Yes.
Q. And when K would cower back away from
Laurie and Sharon after they hit him with a towel
what would he do? Where would he go?
A. There wasn't much room for him to go
anywhere because, like I said, it was a corner.
He would, you know, again, it was hit or miss.
He would either stay there fearful. He might
spit. He might bite himself. He might rip his
clothes off. He was very spontaneous. K had a
variety of behaviors, a variety of reactions. Am
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
I answering the question?
Q. Yes. I just want your memory.
A. Okay.
Q. And I meant to ask you before when -- how
would K respond when Sharon Butler or Laurie
Tomassi or Lisa Taylor and Eric Sadlon would hit
him with a stick?
A. The same way he would respond with a
towel. He would either cower back or continue
like trying to do whatever his original intention
was. If that was to get off the mat, he may
continue. He may self-injure himself by biting
himself, banging his head. I can't recall what
other behaviors he had. I definitely remember
him banging his head and biting himself in
response to those things. I remember him
spitting in response. I remember him cowering
back in response, um.
Q. And how often did Sharon, Laurie, Lisa
and Eric hit him with a stick, how often would
this happen?
MR. DAGUE: Object to form.
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Compound.
A. I don't recall specific number of times.
Q. Well, let me put it this way, when you
would have a shift and K was there --
A. Um-hmm.
Q. -- on a typical day would one or more of
these staff members be hitting K with a stick?
A. If they were assigned to him?
Q. Yes.
A. Yes. On a typical, yes, that was
typical. And if it wasn't with the stick, they
would hit him in some way or, yes, they would
either -- the towel, the socks, some, one of
those behaviors, one of those actions was very
typical to happen when they were assigned to him.
Q. Did staff sometimes scream at K in order
to get him to stay on the mat?
A. Yeah. They yelled at him. Get back on
the mat.
Q. And who did that?
A. Oh, I don't know. I don't recall
specifically right now.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
86
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
A. Bill Murray. Yeah. I don't remember the
specific conversation.
Q. And when you came back, you came back I
guess on October 22nd, 2010?
A. Yeah. That's the date on these.
Q. And who did you see on October 22nd?
A. I believe it was Bill Murray again.
Q. And when you were there on October 22nd,
2010, did you write out a couple more statements?
A. Yes.
Q. So, let's look at AG 5561 in Exhibit 277.
A. 5561. 5561?
Q. Yes.
A. Okay.
Q. Okay. And is this your handwriting?
A. Yes. It is.
Q. And is this a true statement as well?
A. Yes. It is.
Q. And you wrote, "On a Wednesday within the
past few weeks I was working on 9D. I think it
was the same day as the morning fire drill. K
was sitting on the couch. K was spitting.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
87
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Harshanie was on the unit and walked over to K
and bent his fingers backwards. She made a
comment to me along the lines of, 'Don't worry, I
won't leave a mark you will have to write up.'"
Did I read that correctly?
A. Yes.
Q. And is that all true?
A. Yes.
Q. And you saw that yourself?
A. I did.
Q. Is Harshanie, Harshanie Boadnaraine?
A. I have no idea what her last name is.
Q. Was she -- well, how would you -- was she
a young sort of --
A. Indian. I don't know how old she was.
Her first name was Harshanie. I don't know of
any other Harshanie's that worked there.
Q. All right. All right. And I think you
testified that she was usually 9C but occasionally
did a shift in 9D?
A. Correct.
Q. And so can you just describe what Harshanie
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
88
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Boadnaraine did?
A. On this? Yes. K was on the couch where
the mat would have been behind him. He was on
the side closest to where the TV was on the wall.
He was here (indicating). I don't know if that
helps. Anyhow, I was assigned to K that morning.
I went over and I'm not sure if she had been
there from the previous night and had done the
night shift, if she had just come over from 9C,
if she was there visiting. I really don't know.
She was there. She walked up to K, who wasn't
acting out or doing anything, and bent his
fingers on his hand backwards and then made a
comment to me that, don't worry, you won't have
to write this up, I won't leave a mark, you won't
have to write this up. And then she walked away
and went and talked to Cathy Chotkowski.
Q. Okay. So, when Ms. Boadnaraine bent K's
fingers backwards, was that deliberate?
A. Yes.
Q. And how far did she bend his fingers
backwards?
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
89
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
A. I mean far enough that, pretty -- I don't
know.
Q. Far enough to cause him a lot of pain?
A. Yes.
Q. And how did K respond when Harshanie --
A. He pulled away.
Q. And can you describe how he pulled away?
A. He tried to pull his hand away and he
backed up. He was on the couch and he was
pulling away from her and he pulled away.
Q. Would you describe Ms. Boadnaraine's --
would you describe this as abuse?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
Q. Cruel?
A. Yes.
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
Q. Inhumane?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. Yes.
Q. Disgusting?
A. Absolutely.
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
91
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. I believe in one of your prior statements
you said that you believe that these defendants
all treated K like an animal?
A. Yes. I -- yes. I agree. I don't know
if I've written it, but I've said it.
Q. Okay.
A. If I haven't written it.
Q. And can you describe, you know, why you
believe --
A. Because I think everyone else they
treated like a person. They didn't make them
stay on the ground on a mat. They didn't keep
them in a corner. They didn't take their food
away. They didn't call them names. They treated
them as humans.
Q. Other individuals?
A. Other individuals.
Q. So, how did they treat, how did these
defendants treat K like an animal?
A. K was put on a gym mat to stay and told
to stay in a corner the size of a gym mat. It
was not a large area. He was supposed to stay
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
92
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
there. His food was withheld. I guess -- you
know what, I guess worse than an animal. I don't
know. An animal -- I say an animal because I'm
saying less than a human. He was treated awful.
I don't know -- I'm not sure I'm answering your
question.
Q. Okay. When K was on that mat did these
defendants give him things to play with, things
to do or did they just have him sit there?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. They had him sit there. Occasionally --
you know what, occasionally he had a blanket.
Q. Okay. Other than the occasional blanket
the defendants just had K sit there on the mat?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. Correct.
Q. Hour after hour?
A. Hour after hour.
Q. Doing nothing?
A. Doing nothing.
Q. While they just ignored him and watched
television?
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
93
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
A. Correct.
Q. And then when he tried to get off the mat
they would?
A. Direct him back on the mat by hitting
him, yelling at him. Well, Eric was able to
verbally sometimes get him back on the mat.
Usually it was hitting him with the towel, stick.
If he spit, it was the sock, the washcloth in his
mouth. Yeah. That was their interactions.
Q. Did anyone from the investigations unit
explain to you that administrative leave is
usually for people accused of misconduct not the
people who --
A. No. I was told --
Q. -- report misconduct?
A. No.
Q. Now, just to finish this. On October
22nd, 2010, you also signed one more statement
involving a time when K and, I guess, one or two
staff members -- there was some sort of restraint?
A. Yes.
Q. In which you saw a staff member, Tom
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
109
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
do different things. He would cower back for
maybe five minutes, maybe even less than that,
maybe even -- he would crawl off the mat again
and he would do it again and he'd stay back
longer. He had different behaviors when he was
hit.
Q. And sometimes when he was hit was he
cowering back for as long as an hour?
A. Yes.
Q. And cowering like in a corner of the mat?
A. In the corner of the actual walls.
Q. How would he be, like a fetal position or
how would you describe cowered?
A. Yeah. I wouldn't -- I guess. His hands
would be up and his legs would be up. He would
be guarding himself. His knees would be bent,
like that's what I mean by up.
Q. Now, the part where Bill Murray says,
"I'm a big boy, you can hit me with the stick,"
was that before or after the video?
A. The whole thing was before the video.
Q. Did you give any sort of written
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
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[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. Is that all true?
A. That is all true.
Q. "Question: What did that do to him?"
And you said, "He would, I saw him cry
before. He usually like cowered back into the
corner." Is that true?
A. That's true.
Q. And you said, "Sometimes he would, you
know, like I said, I saw him cry a couple times.
Sometimes he would just look like, what are you
doing. Sometimes he'd back up, go into the
corner and kind of cover himself." Is that all
true?
A. True.
Q. Those are all ways K reacted when these
staff hit him with the stick and confined him to
the mat?
A. Yes.
Q. And you said, "He got hit and then it
hurt. I mean, I don't know how much more than
that he knew." And then you said, "Well, it had
an effect on him. Okay? Yeah. It absolutely
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
134
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
had an effect."
Do you believe when the staff hit him
with a stick it absolutely had an effect on K?
A. Yes.
Q. And that he got hurt --
A. I --
Q. -- like he was in pain?
A. Yes.
Q. And you told the police, this is about a
minute and 55:35, one employee, Sharon Butler,
who had worked there I think 21 years, she told
me you'll do just fine, just keep your eyes open
and your mouth shut. That was the nature of the
place. You don't tell on anybody. You shut up."
A. That is true.
Q. And so when you were at O.D. Heck in Unit
9D --
A. I was told by Sharon Butler that I would
be fine if I kept my eyes open and my mouth shut.
Q. Meaning don't report abuse?
A. Yes.
Q. At another point with the police, I
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
135
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
believe about a minute, 59:15 seconds you said,
"There was another thing that was disturbing to
me with K. K had a huge black eye at one point,
when I say huge, I mean, huge, his whole eye was
black and blue. K is African-American, but he is
light skinned and it was purple and it was his
whole eye. And they did bring him to the
emergency room and when they came back I heard
her saying, oh, my God, what happened to him, and
it was like hush, hush, shut up." And is that
true?
A. That is true.
Q. And who said, "Oh, my God, what happened
to him"?
A. Me. I said that. And Sharon Butler told
me to shut up.
Q. Okay.
A. Not to say anything. She said, "He
fell." And I said, "He fell on his eye?" And
she said, "He fell."
Q. And you believe that Sharon Butler
didn't -- was just telling you that's the story?
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
136
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
A. She wanted me to stop talking.
Q. Sharon Butler wanted you to have the
story he fell?
A. Yes.
Q. But you believe Sharon Butler knew that
he, K didn't fall at all?
MR. DAGUE: Object. Form.
A. Clearly.
Q. Okay. And then also in June 2011 you
spoke with someone at the New York Times, right?
A. Correct.
Q. And why did you do that?
A. Because no one was doing anything. No
one was listening to me. No one was changing
anything. No one cared. There was a non-verbal
individual getting hit by sticks and abused and
no one cared. So, I thought maybe, you know,
they might care after it's in public view.
MR. MAAZEL: Okay. Off the record
for a second.
(Whereupon, a discussion was held
off the record.)
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
144
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
washcloth in his mouth and he was spitting and
she said, "We don't spit on 9D and this is what
happens to you when you spit on 9D and she was
shoving the washcloth"; is that all true?
A. That is all true.
Q. And who said, "We don't spit on 9D. This
is what happens," was that Sharon or Laurie or
both?
A. They have both said that.
Q. To K --
A. To K.
Q. -- as they were shoving a washcloth into
his mouth?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And then you also told the
Inspector General something about when family was
visiting they would put on a show?
A. Um-hmm.
Q. Is that family of KC?
A. Yes.
Q. So, can you describe that?
A. They visited once when I was there.
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
145
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
Q. "They" being?
A. K's family. I know his mother was there,
his brother was there. I'm not sure who -- I
think one was his sister and there was, I
believe, another girl. I'm not sure who she was.
I don't recall. But Sharon had K that day and
she dressed him up all nice, cleaned him up, made
sure he had a clean pull up. He was not on the
mat. He was sitting on the couch. They talked
to him like he was a person for the day, which
was not a typical occurrence. Especially for
Sharon. Yeah. She acted like, like she enjoyed
him.
Q. In front of the family?
A. In front of the family.
Q. And what was your reaction to the show
that Sharon and others were putting on?
A. It was sickening because it was fake.
Q. And who was putting on this show?
Sharon, was there anyone else you remember
putting on the show?
A. I don't recall who else was there, but I
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Susan Florio, RPR - Professional Reporting Service - (518)887-2733SueFlorio, RPR
146
[MARY MAIORIELLO - By Mr. Maazel]
know Sharon was assigned to him and I know that
she had him sitting on the couch and was talking
like, like it wasn't even her. Like, she was,
you know, a completely different person that day
while his family was there.
Q. Okay. Were there times when some of the
defendants in this case talked about a Heartspring
video?
A. Yes.
Q. And tell us about that.
A. Apparently there was a video that came.
I never saw it, but there was a video that came
from -- is the Heartspring video the video that
came from Kansas where his previous placement
was?
Q. Kansas. A video from Kansas, Heartspring
video.
A. Yes. Okay. Apparently there was a video
that came and it showed him in the video and I
guess he was -- I didn't see it. So, this is all
secondhand, what they said, but they said he was
happy in the video and they had him --