Frank Whitelaw

Essex County Coroner Frank Whitelaw has resigned from his post, citing a broken coroner system and alleged efforts by county officials to force him out. Essex County officials have refuted his comments.

Whitelaw, who lives in Bloomingdale, resigned on Tuesday after serving as an elected coroner for the county since 2012. He plans to continue serving neighboring Clinton County as an independent fill-in for Coroner Chad Deans.

“I have absolutely loved the work that I have done,” Whitelaw said. “It’s been extra gratifying to serve the people. I’m serving people, in many cases, that I actually know — and that’s very gratifaying because I’m able to provide answers and guidance in a time when their world has exploded right before them. I’m going to miss that.”

Brendan Keough, longtime director of Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake, chief of the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department and son of longtime Franklin County Coroner Ron Keough, lamented Whitelaw’s resignation in a call with the Enterprise on Wednesday.

“That’s a big loss for our end of the county — for the whole county, really,” he said. “Frank’s one of the best coroners I’ve ever worked with. It’s unfortunate that it had to come down to this.”

Coroner system

Whitelaw is known for voicing his concerns about Essex County’s coroner system in 2018.

His comments, first reported by the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, prompted county officials to overhaul the system and craft legislation designed to establish new accountability standards and streamline operations. That new legislation went into effect at the start of this year.

Whitelaw said he believes the changes have made the coroner system more costly to taxpayers, by increasing the reimbursement rate per body removal — and potentially more traumatic for those who lose their loved ones, by shifting the responsibility of body transport from coroners to licensed funeral home directors and potentially extending the amount of time a body remains in a home. County officials have refuted this and have said the changes streamline the system.

The county Board of Supervisors voted on April 6 to assign Whitelaw to three towns in the Tri-Lakes area, Coroner Jay Heald to nine towns and Coroner Kelly Valentine to six towns, with Coroner Walter Marvin as a backup. Whitelaw said that decision was the last straw for him. He claimed that shows favoritism, and pointed to the difference in the number of people each coroner now serves.

County officials have refuted Whitelaw’s comments, as well as his characterization of events.

County Attorney Dan Manning said there are two sides to every story.

“Essex County’s current local law regarding coroners was enacted as a result of questions concerning investigation at the scene, removal and transportation of the decedent, central dispatch, unnecessary autopsies, procedures re non-coroner cases and response times. Saving money was not the county’s top priority, but the treatment of the deceased was. Overall, I believe the county has saved money in tightening up procedures,” Manning said. “The county took great pains to evaluate the situation and relied on experts in the field for advice and upon local law enforcement and the New York State Police.”

Manning said the allocation of the towns was done in conjunction with State Police and is “based on the closest/quickest car concept and an attempt to be fair using population.”

He added that if there been any questions about the zones, the county would consider them.

“Mr. Whitelaw sent us an email a day or two before he resigned and with all the work we are doing with COVID-19, no one was able to respond. His resignation came unexpectedly,” Manning said.

“Mr. Whitelaw states that Essex County was on a mission to get rid of him since we were called out,” he added, referring to a statement released by Whitelaw about his resignation. “We have not been on a mission to get rid of him and were not called out, but he brought various issues to our attention which begot additional concerns.

“We feel we have addressed those issues properly. Apparently he does not agree. He is entitled to his position and we are entitled to ours.”