Editor’s note: This story was updated on Aug. 6 at 7:20 p.m, and originally published on Aug. 6 at 5:10 p.m.
Woodstock fired Michael Innello, the sex offender whose employment as a maintenance worker sparked weeks of public outcry and a governance crisis, an Ulster County official said.
“The Town of Woodstock terminated Michael Innello’s employment,” Assistant Deputy County Executive Amberly Campbell said Wednesday. “The Ulster County Personnel Department simply processes the paperwork.”
Town Board members Anula Courtis and Bennet Ratcliff filed the termination paperwork Monday after Supervisor Bill McKenna refused to act on the board’s July 22 vote to remove Innello “effective immediately.” McKenna did not respond to a request for comment. Innello could not be reached.
Innello, hired by the town in March, was convicted in 2020 of sexually abusing an unconscious woman and possessing child pornography. He is classified by New York State as a Level 3 sex offender—considered at high risk of reoffending and a threat to public safety.
The Town Board’s decision followed public revelations about Innello’s criminal history and concerns that his position could bring him into proximity with children at the Woodstock Summer Recreation Camp. McKenna did not inform the Town Board or police chief of Innello’s background before hiring him.
The controversy led to a petition drive, ethics complaints, a town-wide spending freeze, and mounting calls for McKenna’s resignation. McKenna has defended the hire, citing Woodstock’s 2014 “ban the box” policy that removed questions about criminal convictions from job applications.
The dispute culminated in the board’s 3-0 July 22 vote to terminate Innello. For two weeks, McKenna declined to sign the required change-of-personnel form. After consulting legal counsel, Courtis and Ratcliff signed the form themselves in the field designated for the “Appointing Officer.”
“Monday, I did what the Town Supervisor refused to do: I submitted the termination paperwork for an employee the Town Board lawfully voted to remove,” Courtis said in a statement. “Monday should have been his last day of work. Under no circumstances should the town pay Innello after that.”
Courtis said she consulted the state Attorney General’s Office, the Ulster County District Attorney, and Innello’s parole supervisor to clarify the legal implications of the vote. She acknowledged that the union representing Innello may challenge the termination.
“That’s part of how public service works, and we’ll meet it with the same integrity and transparency that guided this entire process,” she said.
A “Protest for Accountability” is scheduled for Saturday on the Village Green. The next Town Board meeting is set for Aug. 12.
Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.
