A member of the Tisbury board of directors has been accused of using his office to try to target a Main Street business owner, according to a police report obtained by The Times through a request for public documents.

Jeff Kristal, who was recently elected chairman of the board, reportedly approached traffic cop Sam Koohy on July 30, 2020 and asked him to “f—— write parking tickets in front of [Bobby B’s]», Indicates a report written by the police chief Mark Saloio.

According to Saloio’s report, Kristal approached him the day before and alerted the chef to a verbal disagreement he had with Elio Silva, the owner of Bobby B’s at 22 Main St. Kristal allegedly told Saloio that the dispute revolved around 15-minute parking signs on Main Street. .

Throughout the report, Saloio spells Kristal’s name incorrectly. The Times puts the correct spelling in parentheses when citing the chief’s report.

“[Kristal] said Elio told him “f— Tisbury town” and “f – Tisbury police,” the report said. “[Kristal] said Elio pointed out that he had parked his car there for six hours, precisely to see if he would receive a parking ticket, and he was not issued a ticket. [Kristal] He then said he wanted the police to verbalize Elio’s vehicle, which he reported as a “Tesla” with “Vineyard Grocer” written on the side.

Kristal reportedly told the chief that he would email other entities in town and ask them to find out about Bobby B. “I informed [Kristal] that maybe he doesn’t want to put those kind of instructions in writing through email, ”Saloio wrote.

According to the report, the next day, Kristal approached Koohy and asked him to write parking tickets in front of Bobby B’s. “Koohy said [Kristal] told him to go after the business owner and verbalize his customers, ”the report said. Koohy went on to inform

Saloio that he was bothered by Kristal’s comments and that he had had a similar type of conflict with him before when he worked for a Vineyard Haven company.

“Subsequently, I obtained a written statement from Koohy regarding his allegations,” Saloio wrote. “I also met [town administrator Jay] Grande and informed him of this information, noting that it was a possible breach of ethics. Grande has not indicated any type of clear plan or direction regarding this information. He referred me to meet [Kristal] directly.”

Reached by phone, Silva said he was not surprised by the allegations against Kristal. He recalled several confrontations with Kristal whom he described as a “bully”.

Silva denies making comments about the city and the police. ” I said [Kristal] to f— himself, ”said Silva. “He tried to harass me. He tries to tell me how to run my business and I run my business.

Silva said the disputes with Kristal were about seating outside in front of Bobby B’s and 15-minute parking spots. He said Kristal asked for longer parking times, Silva is thinking of helping the Mansion House Inn. “He’s doing what he can for the good of Mansion House because they’re buddies,” Silva said.

This is not the first time that Kristal has been accused of using his position to benefit the hotel. When it was discovered that the Mansion House had illegally pumped up to 25,000 gallons of groundwater per day into the city’s sewage treatment plant, Former selected board member Melinda Loberg told The Times Kristal asked for this to be kept quiet to give the hotel time to resolve the problem.

Kristal has not responded to phone messages or an email for two days. An attempt to speak to him at his business, Crocker House Inn, on Tuesday and Wednesday was also unsuccessful. A young woman who opened the door on Wednesday said she would check Kristal’s availability and then returned to say he would not come to the door. It’s been months since Kristal responded to any requests from The Times.

City administrator Jay Grande returned from vacation on Wednesday morning but was also unavailable. He did not return a call asking for comment.

Last August, just two weeks after his altercation with Kristal, Silva was prevented by the board of directors from obtaining his joint bunker license at Vineyard Grocer. During this meeting, Kristal presented a motion to approve the license, then surprised his colleagues by voting no. He cited fire safety as his reason. Selected board member Larry Gomez then said it was a way to “prove a point” to Silva.

The common bunker license issue dragged on for months because Silva was unable to get a final inspection of his alarm system. At the time, Silva pointed out that the verbal altercation with Kristal was at play in the way the board was handling his situation, but he didn’t know what levels Kristal would have gone to distinguish him from.

“I know Jeff is a sleazebag, but asking the police to target me?” Silva said. “Other people came to me and told me that they had also been harassed by Kristal. He intimidates just about anyone.

As for Koohy, Silva said he appreciated that the traffic cop stepped forward and informed the boss of Kristal’s request. “It’s very disturbing,” Silva said of Kristal. “He always tries to use his civil service for his own agenda.”

During his meeting with Saloio, Kristal denied his comments to Koohy and alleged that the traffic cop had previously had an altercation with him while he was the manager of a Vineyard Haven company that Kristal said had hired. illegal workers. “I said [Kristal] that I specifically asked Koohy to submit a written statement, under oath under penalty of perjury, because I understood the potential seriousness of his allegations, and Koohy did so without hesitation, ”Saloio wrote.

Saloio concluded his report by stating that he didn’t think anything formal should be done about Kristal’s actions. “I just wanted to bring the allegations to him and ask him to refrain from approaching my staff member directly about any parking issues he may have,” the report said.

It is noteworthy that Saloio’s own relationship with the city has deteriorated and he was only offered a final one-year contract from the board of directors. Instead, he decided to retire.

After The Times published the request for public recording of the incident involving Kristal and the traffic cop, the board of directors scheduled a special meeting for July 7. consider Chris Habekost as interim police chief, despite Saloio’s initial intention to remain chef until November 6.