He is about to plunder the village.
The creators of the popular cheese buff brand Pirates' booty are staging a “coup attempt” in the village of Long Island, as they speculate that residents are trying to return to them due to long-standing beef.
Robert Erich, 66, along with three crew members, raided the hall in Seacliffe's village on Monday, declaring that he was the new mayor and that everyone had been fired before demanding an office.
Town officials say the standoff lasted about an hour – police eventually appear to spread the situation before Ehrlich and his fellow insurrections leave peacefully without being arrested.
“He's crazy,” a sea cliff resident who asked to remain anonymous for fear of legal retaliation told the Post Friday.
“It was an attempted coup.”
He and other villagers said they believed this was simply a way to retaliate against the village after defeating him in a 2003 federal lawsuit.
Ehrlich was ordered to pay $900,000 in legal fees on the sea cliff, and later sued the lawyer who represented him for fraud.
And if it's not enough whale, the village is scheduled to hold elections on Tuesday, with Mayor Elena Villarafane running unopposed for part-time seats – at least Ehrlich declared himself a writing candidate after his stunt.
After serving as a trustee for several years, Villafane, elected in 2021, effectively joined the meeting and rushed to the meeting after being informed of the attempted acquisition of Ehrlich.
“At one point, he tells me, 'You're not the mayor anymore. I'm the mayor, and if you spend more cents, it will be considered embezzlement,” Villafane told the Post Friday.
She said she offered to make a copy of his petition and submit it to the village clerk for evaluation and processing.
“This chair is called “mayor,” not “Elena Villafane,” she explained.
“If people want to dissolve the government, they should be able to do it.”
However, Ehrlich did not hand over the petition and appeared to hold onto a “manifesto” of sorts, including all his ideas for his mayor, Villafane pointed out.
“He didn't even touch me the envelope,” she said. He said.
Villafane tries to calm Ehrlich down and reminds him that he had met before.
“You don't know me,” he said.
“I said, 'You know me, you sue me.'” He saw me for the first time and said, 'Oh, that's right.'
Most residents are fully supportive of Villafane, who was elected in 2021 after serving as trustees for several years.
“I lived on sea cliffs for 53 years,” said Phil Como, a volunteer firefighter in the neighborhood. “I put her either number 1 or number 2 in the best mayoral category.
“We have a great board and we provide excellent service. The budget is pretty strict, the taxes are pretty reasonable, and we have excellent code enforcement and zoning. So I don't understand why a successful man chooses to hone a village that runs pretty spectacularly,” he continued.
However, some villagers may look at the possibilities in Ehrlich's leadership and consider writing him despite the success of Villafane on the Sea Cliffs.
“I think he did a great job because he proves himself in the Pirates booty and business field. He told News 12 on Thursday.
Ehrlich did not respond to repeated requests for comments, but he posted a video on the Sea Cliff Residents Facebook page.
“Whatever they're saying about me is wrong,” he declared.
“I stand in an outdoor seating and daycare centre by an old village-sponsored water company.
“I have so many great ideas. I love ocean cliffs from the bottom of my heart. I don't want to go this in the wrong direction,” Ehrlich said.
“I love the sea cliffs more than anyone else. I lived my life here.”
Ehrlich argues that he was empowered by the lesser known state law, the Citizen Empowerment Act, to form what he was now in charge of, what he called the new “inhabitants of the sea cliffs of the corporate village”;
“On arrival, Erich presented a statement that falsely claimed his authority as mayor.” The village said in a statement released on Facebook After the conflict.
“When he was informed that this claim was invalid and not supported by the law, he was asked to leave the village hall at that point. Mr. Ehrlich and his companions became increasingly conflicted.”
