A 30-year employee of the New York State Department of Transportation has retired rather than face disciplinary charges for speaking to a newspaper reporter without approval from Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration.
Mike Fayette told the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that he was threatened with termination for talking to the newspaper for a story about the DOT's handling of the remnants of Hurricane Irene.
DOT public information director William Duffy declined to comment Wednesday to The Associated Press, saying it was a personnel matter.
Fayette, Essex County's resident engineer since 2005, spoke to the paper for an Aug. 30 article. The reporter says he twice sought approval to interview Fayette from DOT spokeswoman Carol Breen but never heard from her.
In the article, Fayette praised the DOT's work.
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