Can There Be Any Doubt That Our DPW Superintendent Is A Pathological Liar?

You may be convinced that he is after reading this article.

During July's informal Common Council meeting, 4th ward council member Vicky Daskaloudi, who was the sole council member behind the effort to make the long and winding (with intersection) Paddock Place safer for children getting to and from the M.C. Smith Elementary School, asked DPW Superintendent Robert Perry the following question (text is taken straight from the archived video of the meeting):

Daskaloudi:  "Rob, I was wondering about the [planned] crosswalk.  There is a stop line currently on Paddock.  It's going to be removed, right, when you put in the crosswalk?"

A stop sign and stop line were installed at this intersection in late March
of last year.  The stop sign disappeared late last year, while the stop
  line remained until recently.

Perry:  "We're just going to put the crosswalk over top of it.  You won't notice it. It'll blend in."

Someone attending the meeting virtually (me), without being recognized to speak(!), then asks a question:  "A crosswalk with no stop sign?"

Perry:  "You don't need a crosswalk with a stop sign."

Huston:  "At an intersection?"

Robert Perry had no further response (how could he offer one without sounding like a fool?), Vicky and Tom Depietro were satisfied with things, and Tom moved the meeting on after thanking Perry for his report.  

The two crosswalks were installed within a few weeks.  However, the crosswalk situated in the north/south direction was installed about 3 feet beyond the stop line that was supposed to disappear by "blending in" with the crosswalk.  The bullshit show on Paddock continues.

Can you "notice" the stop line?  Does it "blend in"
with anything?

During Perry's report one month later (once again via Zoom), he once again drove home the point -- in great detail over a minute and a half -- that his department had to use the "expensive and very labor intensive" thermoplastic decals for crosswalks and stop lines because paint just doesn't hold up over time like the decals do. He even proudly showed a picture of a large box of the thermoplastic decals that cost the city $10,000. Mr. Perry did his best to convince the council that using paint for street markings was not an option, explaining: "The reason we use this is because in the past when we used just striping paint, it would fade away after a few months, then it was everyone's folly to say that DPW hates pedestrians, DPW hates crosswalks, DPW blah bah blah." (Yes, our $117,000 DPW Superintendent actually said this to the council.) Perry then provided a few pictures of recently installed crosswalks and stop lines made using thermoplastic decals.

Finishing his thermoplastic decal portion of the report, Perry said this: "Here's the newest ones over by the tennis courts," while showing a picture of the two new crosswalks at the Paddock Place intersection.  It showed the crosswalks but not the stop line which, of course, had not been "blended in" with the crosswalk at all.  How convenient.  So, not only did our superintendent lie to Vicky Daskaloudi, the rest of the council and the public about his plans for the stop line, he never even bothered to correct what he had said a month earlier by offering an apology for his misstatement or lie or whatever you want to call it. Our DPW Superintendent couldn't be bothered to offer an explanation as to why the crosswalk was not installed over the stop line to make it disappear. Better to just leave it out of the picture and hope no one notices.

Pathological liars often forget the lies they tell.

But it gets creepier.  Much creepier.  It turns out that Mr. Perry failed to mention that the two crosswalks in his own picture were made with paint, not his beloved "expensive and time-consuming" thermoplastic decals.  YES, BOTH OF THE CROSSWALKS DPW SUPPOSEDLY INSTALLED AT THE INTERSECTION ON PADDOCK PLACE WITH THERMOPLASTIC DECALS WERE IN FACT MADE WITH WHITE FUCKING PAINT!  Was Perry misleading the council or lying to them, or does he not know what the hell he is doing or saying?  Sometimes when people get so accustom to lying and no one calls them out on their lies, they start to confuse even themselves.  Their stories based on lies soon turn into a confusing mess, even to the liar.

Pathological liars frequently tell inconsistent and changing stories.  They do not have perfect memories, so they will inevitably slip up by confusing one lie for another.

Perry claimed that his crew used expensive thermoplastic decals
 for these 2 crosswalks, when in fact they were made with paint.
This is a screen shot of the picture Perry offered the council.
The white you see is white paint!

This is the east-west stop line and crosswalk.
Notice the difference.  The stop line is made of 
thermoplastic and the crosswalk is made of paint.
The north-south crosswalk is in the background, 
also made of paint.

Same crosswalk and stop line.
Paint on the left, decals on the right.  The 
stop line cost us at least $125.

It gets even creepier, if you can believe it. A week or two after the crosswalks were PAINTED at the intersection, the controversial and unwanted white stop line installed in early 2023 -- which had no associated stop sign and was supposed to disappear by "blending in" with the new crosswalk made of thermoplastic decals -- had been blacked out with either black paint or tar. "You won't notice it, Vicky."

Mr. Perry's lovely "blending" job.  "YOU 
WON'T NOTICE IT!"  A crosswalk installed
at an intersection with no stop sign designed 
to keep children safe.

If you need more evidence that Mr. Perry is likely a narcissistic pathological liar, consider how he responded to a simple and straightforward question from a council member during August's meeting (via Zoom, of course -- he is still not required to be in the room and he has no interest in being with the council in person).  Third ward member Lola Roberts questioned Perry about the ancient metal tub at the side of Columbia Street adjacent to the fence surrounding the silly and useless polluting Olympic torch.  Anyone who has seen the tub has probably wondered why the hell it is there at the side of the road doing nothing but waiting to be run into, possibly even by the DPW snowplow.  The tub is not difficult to notice if you've been driving or bicycling around Hudson for just a few months, and certainly you know about it if, like Mr. Perry, you have lived in Hudson your entire life. 

Our $117,000 DPW Superintendent recently 
claimed that he had no knowledge of this metal 
tub along Columbia Street that could weigh more
than a half ton and serves no purpose other than to
get in the way of a vehicle or DPW snowplow.

Roberts described to Perry where the tub was located, then said, "There's like a metal tub. Is that your department? I don't know if it's metal or concrete, it's sitting right in front of the torch that's burning. Is that your department? Is that there for a reason?"

Perry : I don't know what you're talking about.

Roberts: It's on the Columbia Street side right in front of the big torch that's burning. I don't know if it's concrete or metal, but it's right on the side.

Rich Volo (on Zoom): It's a horse trough. 

Roberts:  What's that? 

Rich Volo:  Isn't it a horse trough?

(Gee, thanks Rich, your contribution was so helpful and insightful!  Do you have anything else to add?*)

Perry: I don't know. That's what it looks like. I don't know.

Merante (who is close to completely blind):  Is it a barrier for the torch when it's lit with the kerosene?

Perry: What? (as in, "What the hell are you talking about?")

Merante: I mean, it's in front of the torch, is it some kind of barrier? (The tub is not anywhere near the front of the torch!**)

Roberts: But there's a fence there.

Perry: It's not on the street. I never noticed it before, honestly. (No one had shown him a picture of the tub!)

"I never saw it before, honestly." So, you haven't seen it"
When was it that you saw it exactly?

Roberts:  It's on the street side.  It's on the street!  Like when you're driving... 

Perry:  I don't know what it looks... I don't know what it is.  I never noticed it before.

Tom Depietro (ready to move on):  Okay, Margaret.

As Margaret Morris begins her question to Perry on a different topic and everyone had seemingly moved on from the topic of the tub, the DPW Superintendent interrupts her with his final explanation of his ignorance of the tub situation, talking to no one in particular and speaking as if everyone listening to him didn't already know that he knew nothing about the tub.  What he said sounded so pathetic and childish.  And, frankly, stupid.  He couldn't shut up.  He had to repeat once more what he had already said numerous times.

Are you saying that you've never seen it,
 or that you never saw it before, Mr. Perry?

Perry: I don't know what to tell you, I never saw it before. I don't know what it is.

Lola had nothing further to say or ask. She was another one of Mr. Perry's poor victims.  Shut down, shut out, shut up and dismissed like trash by our Great DPW Communicator on Zoom.  It's not just that Mr. Perry repeated over and over that he was ignorant of the tub, but he had no interest in learning about the tub or attending to Lola's concern.  This is how our DPW Superintendent tells the council to fuck off and mind their own business.  This is how our DPW Superintendent vocalizes his disdain for the council.  This is how Robert Perry demonstrates the symptoms of a typical narcissistic pathological liar.  All the while on Zoom!

3rd Ward Council member Lola Roberts covering her 
face in frustration moments after DPW Superintendent
Robert Perry repeatedly dismissed and ignored
her legitimate concern about the tub in the street.

Pathological liars will often repeat themselves ad nauseum when telling a half truth or complete falsehood.  This is done for two reasons: first, they will repeat the lie over and over to solidify the facts in their mind, so they can stick to their story.  Secondly, they're trying to convince you that they're telling the truth by solidifying their words in your mind.

Referring to the tub over the course of exactly one and a half minutes, Mr. Perry uttered "I don't know" SEVEN times, "I never noticed it before" twice, and "I never saw it before" just once.  He averaged a denial of knowledge of the tub once every 9 seconds.  Robert Perry, our $117,000 DPW Superintendent sounded like a child who had been caught stealing.  Or lying.  And not once did our DPW Superintendent say he would look into Lola's concern or tell her that he would go have a look and get back to her about the tub she was concerned and curious enough about to bring the issue to his attention.  He offered no help or empathy.  

One distinctive characteristic of a pathological liar is a lack of empathy.  Because pathological liars have no understanding or caring of how their lying makes others feel, they lack empathy.

Perry when he was Common Council President about 2009,
prior to becoming DPW Superintendent.  

There were so many obvious inconsistent and questionable responses from Perry that the council "president" could have pursued if he cared to and was paying close attention.  Among them: why would Perry claim "that's what it looks like" if he's "never noticed it before" or "has no idea" what Roberts is "talking about"? Why would he say that he's "never seen it before"? "Before" when? How does he know it's "not on the street" if he's "never seen it before"?  Depietro could have asked a few simple questions of Perry to see if he cares about anything the council tries to make him aware of:  "We all understand quite well that you don't know what Lola is talking about, Rob, but do you CARE that Lola has tried to bring a concern of hers to your attention? Are you going to look into her concern or not bother? If you are not going to do anything about the tub and Lola's concern, why are you here tonight?"

Asking something like that of our $117,000 DPW Superintendent on Zoom is not Tom Depietro's style.  He would rather let Mr. Perry's bullshit flow and get the meetings over with as quickly as possible.  No need in upsetting the apple cart.

Robert Perry grew up in Hudson, he's been the superintendent for at least 15 years, DPW maintains the Olympic torch area and sweeps and plows the streets regularly, and Perry drives around town all day in both his city-issued vehicle and his personal vehicle. And yet, he repeatedly claims not to know anything about the ancient metal tub on Columbia Street because he's "never seen it before, never noticed it before, and he has no idea" what Lola Roberts is talking about.  Can you imagine the nerve? And he gets away with this kind of nonsense every time. Plays dumb, doesn't want to be told what to do. Meanwhile, nobody objects, including the guy supposedly in charge of the meetings. What an effective Common Council and professional, compassionate DPW Superintendent the residents of Hudson have been blessed with!

Hudson is sinking fast, people. And both Robert Perry and Tom Depietro are increasingly part of the problem, not the solution.

Here are the most common signs of a pathological liar:

They usually get defensive when confronted about a lie. 
They often appear anxious while talking. 

They often act in ways that don't match their words. (!!!!) 

They often lie when there is no reason to. (!!!!!!) 

They constantly change their story or are vague when questioned.

A narcissistic liar lacks empathy for other and often doesn't feel shame or guilt about their lies, which makes it easy for them to lie excessively. (!!!!) 

They are seemingly unconcerned with being caught in a lie.

A pathological liar not only lies frequently but may feel a compulsion to do so.

Pathological liars can't stop lying, even when it causes psychological distress, puts them in danger, and creates problems with relationships, work or other aspects of daily life. (!!!!!)

The picture above is a screenshot from Mr. Perry's August report (he displayed it sideways for some reason), showing a new thermoplastic crosswalk across Prospect Avenue at the bottom of Rossman Avenue.   Perry had this to say about the crosswalk:  "You can see the remnants of the last application.  It's still visible, but faint."  HUDseen readers may be familiar with this crosswalk, or at least the "last application" of the crosswalk there.  HUDseen wrote about it in December, pointing out how much the crosswalk cost the city and how quickly it began to disappear.  Here's what Mr. Perry failed to mention when pointing out the latest crosswalk installed on Prospect Avenue just south of Rossman:  DPW originally installed a crosswalk made of thermoplastic decals there last October at the cost of at least $500.  Just 9 months later, DPW covered up the remnants of that failed thermoplastic crosswalk with another $500 thermoplastic crosswalk.  For some odd reason, Mr. Perry did not offer a full disclosure such as this: "You can see the remnants of last October's failed $500 crosswalk installation now being covered over with a new $500 crosswalk."  His DPW did a great "blending" job there, didn't they?  No one will notice last year's $500 crosswalk, and no one will talk about it.

If it's not lies, it's convenient omissions to hide what is really going on at DPW and how much money Robert Perry seems to enjoy wasting on "expensive and labor intensive" thermoplastic street striping decals while contractors paint street striping all over town that holds up just fine. Take the white crosswalk lines and arrows at the Stewart's corner that were installed exactly one year ago using paint.  PAINT FOR PENNIES, NOT DECALS FOR HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!  You can tell DPW had nothing to do with those markings -- they look great after one year at our busiest intersection!

Pathological lying is a possible symptom of certain personality disorders, including: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD); and Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD).

* Can someone please convince Rich Volo to stick to the CAC and never run for council again!

** Can someone please suggest to Tom Depietro that any blind or nearly blind council members refrain from offering insights into matters that require vision, such as where things are located?!!  And that any deaf or nearly deaf council members refrain from offering insights into matters that require hearing, such as noise issues!