Cayuga County Mental Health Director David Blair may be leaving behind more than just his post as he enters into retirement.

Just days after Blair stepped down as director, acting state Supreme Court Judge Mark H. Fandrich quashed a subpoena issued by the Cayuga County Board of Ethics for the testimony of Terri Wasilenko, president of the county chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The subpoena -- requesting Wasilenko's testimony along with the NAMI checkbook and check register -- is part of the board's ongoing probe into allegations that Blair accepted money from the NAMI for personal use.

Both Wasilenko and Blair deny the charge.

Roger Mills, chairman of the county Legislature, indicated he would now be willing to drop the issue.

"I think what's going to happen now is the legislators are going to look at the findings and determine whether they want to pursue this or not," Mills said. "It seems reasonable, since Mr. Blair has announced his retirement, that we won't pursue any more charges against him. It's not my decision to make, but it would be my recommendation."

In a written decision, Fandrich denied the board's petition on grounds that the board of ethics does not have the legal authority to issue a subpoena.

He stated the board cannot issue subpoenas because there is no law in Cayuga County granting it the authority to receive complaints and investigate them independently to see if any ethics violations have occurred.

Blair declined to comment; Wasilenko could not be reached.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Citizen.