Matter of Rivera v Pilon
2009 NY Slip Op 00609 [59 AD3d 761]
February 5, 2009
Appellate Division, Third Department
As corrected through Wednesday, April 1, 2009


In the Matter of Gilberto Rivera, Petitioner, v D. Pilon, asCorrection Officer, et al., Respondents.

[*1]Gilberto Rivera, Gouverneur, petitioner pro se.

Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Albany (Martin A. Hotvet of counsel), forrespondents.

Proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of the SupremeCourt, entered in Albany County) to review a determination of the Commissioner of CorrectionalServices which found petitioner guilty of violating certain prison disciplinary rules.

Petitioner, a prison inmate, commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding challenging a tierIII disciplinary determination finding him guilty of harassment and making threats. We nowconfirm.

To the extent that petitioner challenges the determination of guilt on an evidentiary basis, themisbehavior report, authored by the correction officer involved in the incident, is sufficient, byitself, to provide substantial evidence to support the determination (see Matter of Adams v Goord, 45AD3d 940, 940-941 [2007]). As for petitioner's contention that the Hearing Officer wasbiased, it is neither substantiated by the record nor is there any indication that the determinationflowed from any purported bias (seeMatter of Purcell v McKoy, 54 AD3d 1113, 1114 [2008]). Petitioner's remainingassertions, including his claim that he was denied his right to present witness testimony, havebeen considered and are either unpreserved or lacking in merit.

Peters, J.P., Lahtinen, Kane and Malone Jr., JJ., concur. Adjudged that the determination isconfirmed, without costs, and petition dismissed.


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