David Stone
Founder & Euro Editor
Navigating Apps with Changes in Memory: Join Our Study
December 2, 2025
Weill Cornell Medicine seeks older adults with mild memory loss for a study on improving navigation apps. Participation is valuable,...
Spencer-EL, Cerone, Smith Settle RIOC Lawsuit: How Much Did They Get?
The whistleblower lawsuit against RIOC resulted in a $225,000 settlement for three plaintiffs, who received modest individual compensation, without any admissions of wrongdoing by RIOC.
RIOC Whistleblower Lawsuit: Closed Case Unveils Disturbing Details
In an action for illegal workplace retaliation, three employees filed a lawsuit against RIOC executives, alleging termination for whistleblowing. The settlement implies acknowledgment of misconduct. The closed case sheds light on RIOC’s troubled history, but with executives under suspension and ongoing investigations, taxpayers face further financial losses. The fight for justice continues.
RIOC Whistleblowers’ New Legal Challenge Caused Board’s Executive Session
The coalition of RIOC Whistleblowers – Erica Spencer-EL, Amy Smith and Jessica Cerone – at least in part, caused the board’s executive session last week. They filed their stinging response to a motion to dismiss the next day. It was…
RIOC Fired Spencer-EL Over a Small Resume Miscue. Now, Why Not Haynes?
A resume miscue justified firing RIOC executive Erica Spencer-EL after 17 years with the state agency, according to her lawsuit against it. But a new discovery leads to more questions about President/CEO Shelton J. Haynes’s own, mysterious work history and…
RIOC Sucks Wind Now In Defamation Claims Against Whistleblowers
Whistleblowers Erica Spencer-EL, Amy Smith and Jessica Cerone sued RIOC for unlawful termination in February. In an extraordinary move, the state agency fired back with defamation claims in a separate lawsuit. But last month, The Daily learned, that lawsuit was…
Updating the Whistleblower Retaliation Lawsuit Against RIOC
After a Crains New York article based largely on it, the whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed in February against RIOC remains active and in the spotlight. Recenltly, the former employees amended their complaints while the state countered with more intense retaliation….
Crains New York Business: “Claims of ‘chaos,’ corruption engulf Roosevelt Island governing body”
Crains New York Business shook the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) with that headline article on Tuesday morning. While the article broke no new ground, it clearly laid out charges against the state agency in three current lawsuits. Although Crains…
Wham! In New Lawsuit, Spencer-EL, Cerone and Smith Slam RIOC
A new lawsuit filed by three fired RIOC managers jointly lifts suspicions about mismanagement, incompetence, coverups and possibly criminal behavior within RIOC under Shelton J. Haynes. Tales of retaliation and abuse leading up to their dismissals are eye-opening. Following is…
For RIOC, the Mystery of a Grim April 2022 Board Meeting
From the moment it powered up in Zoom, RIOC’s April 2022 board meeting felt grim and weighty. Chair RuthAnne Visnauskas’s stand-in was in such darkness, you had to take for granted he was speaking. And longest-standing member David Kraut was…
Erica Spencer-EL is out at RIOC. No reason given, so far
On Saturday, multiple sources confirmed that 15-year employee Erica Spencer-EL is no longer working for the state agency. Initial reports say she was fired, but that is not confirmed. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News Erica Spencer-EL and…
David Stone
Founder & Euro Editor