Request for Records of the Office of Inspector General

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records of the Office of Inspector General naming, mentioning or concerning the individual named LOUIS ROBERT GIGANTE ("GIGANTE") of New York, date of birth March 19, 1932, pastor of St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church and South East Bronx Community Organization ("SEBCO"), a recipient of HUD grants and other subsidies.

I request a search of all Office of Inspector General systems of records, which may include (not exclusively) “Investigative Files of the Office of Inspector General,” “Hotline Complaint Files of the Office of Inspector General,” “Name Indices System of the Office of Inspector General,” and “Autoinvestigation of the Office of Inspector General.”

Attached, please find an obituary. It serves as proof that GIGANTE is known to be deceased, and provides general biographical information concerning GIGANTE.

Please note that courts have upheld, with regard to the Freedom of Information Act, that "the legislative plan creates a liberal disclosure requirement, limited only by specific exemptions which are to be narrowly construed." (see Bristol-Myers Company v. FTC, 424 F. 2d 935 - Court of Appeals, Dist. of Columbia Circuit 1970). The Office should minimize invoking exemptions to FOIA that cause withholding of records or use of redaction for the following reasons:

* Deceased persons are understood to have diminished privacy concerns. In the balancing test of interests, Privacy Act and privacy-centric exemptions to Freedom of Information Act are outweighed by the public interest in release of the files; to wit, GIGANTE was a public figure as evidenced by his having stood for election of Member of the New York City Council and there is a public interest in understanding his activities as known to the agency.

* GIGANTE is not just deceased but was 90 years old at the time of death and last held a position at SEBCO in 2007. While records may concern law enforcement matters, any investigative value to these records has likely dried up as it is not possible to prosecute a dead person, and any criminality described within the records is likely to have been committed past the statute of limitations.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

T. McElwee