Serving as Rye City Mayor (R) from 2010-2014, Douglas French was unable to run for reelection after a series of Rye municipal frauds surfaced during his administration, some undertaken by him personally.

In 2011, Mr. French was unmasked by Ray Tartaglione as owning an illegally converted and improved rental property in Rye, with an illegal STAR property tax exemption collected over a 10 year period. A felony in New York State for which he was not charged for, Mr. French was forced to pay nearly $17,000 in restitution and penalties to Westchester County.
Other highlights of French’s tumultuous tenure include the active stonewalling of investigations and remediations for both Hen Island and Schubert’s Destroyed Wetlands – two high-profile local issues that allowed Mr. French and his “Change For Rye” teammates to originally win election against Mr. Otis and his team’s slate.

Through televised podium appearances at Rye City Council meetings, Mr. Tartaglione revealed the relationship between Mayor Doug French and The Volpe family, his Meadow Place neighbors in Rye and personal friends. At the time, The Volpe family controlled the Board of Directors on Hen Island.

Prior to his election in 2009, Mr. French met with Mr. Tartaglione and assured him of remediation of the Hen Island health and safety threats. Based on these campaign promises, Mr. Tartaglione actively supported Mr. French’s mayoral bid by organizing a fundraiser while also utilizing Mr. Floatie as means of drawing negative publicity towards Steve Otis, Mr. French’s opponent.