MOUNT VERNON: MAYOR ACCUSED IN LAWSUIT

A former Mount Vernon police commissioner has filed a federal lawsuit
against the city and its mayor, accusing the mayor of misusing
federal drug forfeiture money and blocking police investigations
against the mayor's friends. The ex-commissioner, Gertrude LaForgia,
took the job in December 1998 and left abruptly last month. The
lawsuit, filed on Aug. 15, also accused the mayor, Ernest Davis, of
firing Ms. LaForgia and falsely telling the press she had resigned.
Mr. Davis said Ms. LaForgia had resigned of her own accord, and
called her accusations false and outlandish.