6 days ago
Small-town mayor is accused of body-slamming a predecessor in drunken country club dust-up
An upstate New York mayor and one of his predecessors have given wildly different versions of an apparent country club brawl that left one of them bruised and bloodied.
Current Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan and former Mayor Jim Brown allegedly got into a physical altercation Tuesday night at the Teugega Country Club.
Brown claimed that Lanigan assaulted him in the parking lot and left him with a bloody injured arm that had to be treated at a local hospital.
'He body-slammed me into the car. He caught me off guard. I didn't see him coming,' Brown told the Daily Sentinel.
Brown, who served as mayor from 2004 to 2011, said that he was walking to a car with another person when he was approached by Lanigan, who was elected in 2024.
'I'm talking to an individual straight like that, ok, and then all of a sudden, I didn't have time. [Lanigan] comes over and body blocks me right into the side of the car. Just boom,' the former mayor said.
'And then he looks me in the eye and says, "We don't want you here. We don't want you here." Twice.'
However, Lanigan alleged that he approached Brown respectfully and that he tried to help his predecessor because he appeared intoxicated.
'Mayor Lanigan, and in an attempt to get his attention placed his hand on Mr. Brown's shoulder. Mr. Brown responded by flailing his arms and he became verbally aggressive,' his office told CNY Central.
'Recognizing Mr. Brown's apparent level of intoxication, Mayor Lanigan made the decision to escort him to his designated driver's vehicle a short distance away for his own safety.
'While assisting Mr. Brown into the car, the verbal dispute continued. No physical assault occurred, and the situation ended shortly thereafter.'
Brown refuted Lanigan's version of events and claimed there is video evidence that supports his statement.
'It's a lie,' said Brown. 'There's footage. They have the footage, I think the Sheriff's Department has the video, because there's cameras on the parking lot.'
Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol confirmed to local news outlets on Wednesday that his office took a complaint from Brown regarding the confrontation.
'We did receive a complaint from former Mayor Brown concerning an incident last night at the Teugega County Club involving current Mayor Lanigan,' Maciol said.
'Deputies have spoken to some witnesses and taken some witness depositions. Currently obtaining some potential video footage.'
As of Wednesday afternoon, no charges had been filed nor arrests had been made, according the local news.
Lanigan claimed the two of them had been friends for years until recently when Brown started bashing 'his administration for no apparent reason.'
'Public life can bring moments of tension, and unfortunately, politics can be ugly. I am disappointed in Mr. Brown's recent public outbursts,' he said.
