In the latest twist in the Cayuga County asbestos scandal, two black plaintiffs say that because of their race, they were sent to do the dirtiest, and thus the most dangerous, tasks in removing asbestos-laden material under the direction of county workers.

Six former county jail inmates filed paperwork commencing a lawsuit, the next step after they filed notices of claims last year. Matthew Brown, Anthony L. Daniels, Dana R. Grimes, Anthony P. Mancuso Jr., Dale R. Webb, and Michael Whyte gave a summons of complaint, signed by their attorney, Carl J. DePalma.

Grimes and Daniels, who were identified as African-Americans in their complaint, said they had to work in the locations with the highest concentration of asbestos-contained material.

“The conspiracy of the defendants to deprive the plaintiffs of their rights was motivated by class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus because the plaintiffs were prisoners/inmates and/or African-Americans,” the document stated.

In February 2006, the inmate work crew removed a boiler from the Cayuga County Board of Elections building. Workers at the building were told about the improper removal effort only after a federal and state investigation had commenced.

Suspended county carpenter John Chick admitted he illegally removed the material from the Court Street building but said he was following orders from higher-ups. His sentence for violating the federal Clean Air Act is pending.

DePalma could not be reached for comment Friday. The Auburn attorney represents a variety of claimants, including BOE employees, the released Cayuga County Jail inmates as well as

members of the public who may have been exposed to asbestos performing their daily job duties, including reporters and Auburn landfill workers. He has said the claimants can't file as a class action lawsuit because their exposure ranges from casual contact to direct removal.

DePalma is requesting actual damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, reasonable costs and disbursements, and additional relief as the law provides.

The document accuses county officials of misconduct, stating “only a plainly incompetent person or one who was knowingly violating the law” would have had the crew work with the material without providing training or protective gear.

County Attorney Fred Westphal could not comment on the summons because he had not reviewed it. The county's response was to send the document to the outside counsel it hired to handle asbestos-related cases.

However, he was not surprised to receive it.

While he did not know of the date, Westphal expected to see the document cross his desk. In fact, he predicts to see more from other plaintiffs.

“There's no way to tell (how many more) because not everyone that filed a notice of claim would have to commence a lawsuit and I would hate to venture a guess as to how many will,” Westphal said.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or jessica.soule@lee.net