Opinion
Decided January 15, 2008.
APPEAL, by permission of the Court of Appeals, from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Second Judicial Department, entered March 27, 2007, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78. The Appellate Division granted a petition, on the law and in the exercise of discretion, to review a determination of respondent Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, which after a hearing, found the petitioner guilty of misconduct and demoted him from the position of park foreman to the position of maintenance laborer, to the extent of annulling so much of the determination demoting petitioner and remitting the matter to respondents to impose an appropriate penalty less severe than demotion. Matter of Torrance v Stout, 38 AD3d 910, reversed.
Charlene M. Indelicato, County Attorney, White Plains ( Thomas G. Gardiner of counsel), for appellants.
James M. Rose, White Plains, for respondent.
OPINION OF THE COURT
The judgment of the Appellate Division, insofar as appealed from, should be reversed, with costs, and the petition dismissed in its entirety.
Petitioner, employed in a supervisory capacity, engaged in the willful and intentional illegal disposition of county property. Accordingly, we cannot conclude that the penalty of demotion to a nonsupervisory position shocks the judicial conscience ( see Matter of Pell v Board of Educ. of Union Free School Dist. No. 1 of Towns of Scarsdale Mamaroneck, Westchester County, 34 NY2d 222, 233-234). We reiterate that the Appellate Division has no discretionary authority or interest of justice jurisdiction in this CPLR article 78 proceeding to review the penalty imposed by respondent Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation ( see Matter of Rutkunas v Stout, 8 NY3d 897, 899).
Chief Judge KAYE and Judges CIPARICK, GRAFFEO, READ, SMITH, PIGOTT and JONES concur in memorandum.
On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals ( 22 NYCRR 500.11), judgment, insofar as appealed from, reversed, etc.