SOLVAY, N.Y. -- Three days after the Solvay mayor berated a village attorney in front of a roomful of people, the villages law firm quit.

Costello, Cooney & Fearon has been Solvays legal counsel for 23 years. Friday, the firm sent Solvay a letter saying they were ending the relationship.

I am ethically precluded from discussing any of the reasons that led to this, said attorney Kevin Gilligan. But after 23 years were not going to be their attorneys.

Solvay Mayor Derek Baichi has been critical of the villages lawyers for months, complaining in vague terms about several investigations the board launched into its own members and the police chief. Hes threatened to get rid of the firm and tried at least once to withhold their payments.

He also tried to reappoint the firm to a full-year term earlier this year, but was blocked by the rest of the board.

At a meeting last Tuesday, Baichi told Nadine Bell, a partner at Costello, Cooney & Fearon, that she needed to earn their money. He was asking Bell to disapprove of a proposed resolution that would have forced Baichi to reimburse the village for an investigation into the police chief.

Nadine, you gotta give the right answers, dont give me this political correctness garbage," he shouted. "Do your job.

The resolution was eventually dropped, after which Baichi said he was given misinformation.

Baichi has also lambasted Kevin Gilligan, a Costello lawyer who has worked for the village since 1997.

In December, Baichi tried to block a resolution to pay the villages legal bills for the month. He told Gilligan he would pay the bills if Gilligan disclosed information about an investigation into another board member.

Ill make you a deal. I want you to read the email you sent to this board within the last 24 hours about one of those investigations, Baichi said. If you read the email Ill vote yes.

I wont read the email. Its a confidential attorney-client communication, Gilligan replied. It would be a violation of my legal ethics.

Baichi eventually relented and said that he would agree to pay the law firm for services theyd already provided, but noted he was unhappy with a pair of investigations that were ongoing.

Alright you know what Ill do? Ill vote yes, only because its Christmas and Kevin youve been a pretty decent lawyer these past two years," he said. "Ill vote yes because I dont want to ruin Christmas.

Baichi tried to reappoint Costello, Cooney & Fearon earlier this year -- an effort that was blocked by the majority of the board. The majority of the board instead recommended issuing a request for proposals to seek bids from other firms.

The board agreed to keep Costello, Cooney, Fearon on a month-to-month basis until the RFP was completed. That RFP is ongoing and one law firm has applied.

Solvays board has been beset by internal investigations for much of the last seven months. Those investigations (one into a pair of board members and another into the police chief) have been a source of constant friction and open hostility between the mayor and his opponents on the board. Theyve also been shrouded in secrecy. Baichi has said repeatedly he cant discuss the details because the village lawyers have advised him against it.

Costello, Cooney, Fearon has represented Solvay since 1997. Gilligan said he was first appointed by Mayor Anthony Modafferi 23 years ago. Since then, he said, hes made a lot of friends working with Solvay.

Well miss working with the village after 23 years, he said. I met a lot of the people and love them very much.

Gilligan sent the village a letter last week alerting officials that the law firms services would end on Feb. 14.

He also commended Bell for operating on a totally ethical basis" at last weeks contentious meeting.

The Solvay board will hold a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss the future of the villages legal representation.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Baichi tried to appoint another law firm earlier this year. He tried to reappoint CCF, but the board voted against him and instead opted to issue a request for proposals for firms.

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Solvays mayor threatened to fire the villages lawyers. Instead, they quit - syracuse.com