Orthodox Attorney Fired As Spring Valley Village Attorney

Village attorney Ryan Karben got fired today and got a police escort out of Village Hall

Mayor Noramie Jasmin fired Village Attorney Ryan Karbentoday for not doing the job she expected of him.

Jasmin said tonight that she fired Karben because he didn’t “fulfill my expectations as the village attorney.” She didn’t provide specifics.
“I gave Ryan a full year,” Jasmin said. “I gave him a chance to work with the village ... In the village of Spring Valley we are facing a lot of issues. I expect people, when they work for the village, to fulfill their tasks.”
Jasmin contradicted police statements that officers escorted Karben from the building, as part of the normal routine.
She said she doesn’t have a replacement in mind, but plans to take her time and interview attorneys.
Karben, a former Rockland legislator and assemblyman, declined to comment.
“I am not going to comment on my discussions with the mayor,” Karben said, adding that she’s a friend. “The mayor speaks for the village.”
Jasmin appointed Karben in December after she won election. He previously worked as a deputy village attorney.
Trustee Demeza Delhomme said Jasmin spoke to him about Karben. He wasn’t in the village today.
“The mayor told me there was an incident,” Delhomme said. “She didn’t explain it to me. I have no idea what happened. The mayor has the right to bring people in and take out people.”
Karben, 36, served on the Ramapo Planning Board before he turned 20, then won election to the Rockland Legislature in 1997 after graduating from law school.
Karben won an Assembly seat in November 2002. He resigned in 2006 amid allegations of improper behavior with legislative interns in Albany. He said he resigned to spend more time with his family and on his law practice.


In December 2008, he pleaded guilty to driving while impaired by alcohol and served a night in jail on a two-day sentence.