Documentation of Nick Cottone Fraud and Multi Year Relationship with my Family

 

SECOND PRIORITY SUPPLEMENT: Evidence of Multi-Year Administrative Fraud

TO: Dr. Aaron Spence; LCPS School Board; HRTD

CC: LCPS Legal Counsel; Tedra Richardson

SUBJECT: SECOND PRIORITY SUPPLEMENT: Documented Multi-Year Relationship vs. Oct 13, 2023, False Statement (Ref: VFOIA R001605-042624)

To the LCPS Leadership:

Following my previous supplements, I am submitting further irrefutable evidence from VFOIA Record R001605-042624 (produced May 3, 2024). This cache of 18 pages of internal emails proves that Principal Nick Cottone’s October 13, 2023, statement to LCPS leadership—denying any relationship with my family—was not an oversight, but a premeditated false official statement.

I. Chronology of the 14-Month Relationship (2022–2023): The following records prove an active, personal, and professional partnership existed long before the October 2023 denial:

• August 30, 2022: Principal Cottone coordinates event logistics on a first-name basis: "All of this sounds great, Liz!"

• September 18, 2022: Principal Cottone sends a personal thank-you for her "hard work and dedication," acknowledging her impact on the school community.

• September 6, 2023: Principal Cottone sends a personal inquiry: "Hey Liz! Hope all is well! ... I can call or we can chat by email."

• September 8, 2023: Ms. Entsminger thanks Cottone for a "heads up" regarding other students—evidence of Cottone providing "insider" administrative information to a private party.

II. The Falsified Statement (October 13, 2023): Exactly 37 days after coordinating a phone call with "Liz," Principal Cottone wrote to LCPS leadership: "I don't have any type of relationship with this family." This 18-page record proves this was a material lie intended to shield his subsequent collusion from district oversight.

III. Mandatory Litigation Hold Expansion: Given the 2022 origins of this documented relationship, the previously requested Mandatory Litigation Hold is hereby expanded to include all communications between Nick Cottone, Kate Ridgeway, and Elizabeth Entsminger from August 1, 2022, to the present.

IV. Administrative Failure of Subpoena Notice: As previously stated, Principal Cottone and Dr. Ridgeway were served with subpoenas on April 24, 2024. The district’s failure to notify me of this service—occurring just 48 hours before my VFOIA request to uncover these very emails—points to a coordinated effort to protect a Principal who has now been proven to have defrauded the Office of the Superintendent.

V. BREACH OF ADMINISTRATIVE CONFIDENTIALITY & FERPA IMPLICATIONS In the 18-page email cache (VFOIA R001605-042624), specifically the exchange on September 8, 2023, Ms. Entsminger writes to Principal Cottone: “Thanks for the heads up re: these two. Let me know if there are any others...”

• The Violation: This correspondence indicates that Principal Cottone was utilizing his administrative access to school records and student/parent behavior to provide "insider" intelligence to a private individual.

• The Impact: A Principal acting as an informant for a private party regarding "other" individuals in the school community is a gross breach of confidentiality, a violation of the duty of neutral administration, and a direct contravention of LCPS Policy 7560, which requires staff to maintain the "confidentiality of information" acquired in the course of professional service.

• The Fraud Link: This exchange occurred a mere 35 days before Mr. Cottone falsely claimed to leadership that he had "no relationship" with this family. It is now clear that the relationship was so intimate that it included the unauthorized sharing of school-level intelligence.

I demand these 18 pages be entered into the current HRTD investigation as primary evidence of Administrative Fraud.

Sincerely,

Steven Rubis

PART I: THE COTTONE FRAUD & CONFIDENTIALITY BREACH (2022–2023)

• Exhibit A-0: The 14-Month Chronology (VFOIA R001605-042624). 18 pages of emails (Aug 2022–Oct 2023) documenting a first-name partnership and the Sept 8 "Heads Up" breach of confidentiality.

• Exhibit A-1: The 10/13/23 False Official Statement. The email where Cottone denies the relationship proven in Exhibit A-0.

• Exhibit B: The 10/24/23 Pre-Litigation Coordination. Attorney billing proving legal strategy meetings involving LCPS records before any court filing.

• Exhibit C: The 10/26/23 Evidence of Collusion (VFOIA R001471-120923). Cottone offering "help" to counsel. (Note: Suppressed in 1/5/26 FOIA response).

• Exhibit D: The 12/08/23 Information Leak. Proof that private communications sent to Cottone appeared in a Rule to Show Cause court filing.

• Exhibit E: The 12/12/23 Retaliatory SRO Interrogation. Transcript where the SRO admits there is "no criminal investigation."

PART II: THE RIDGEWAY & IEP ESCALATION (2025–2026)

• Exhibit F: The 11/11/25 Notice of Fear (Transcript). Recording of Dr. Ridgeway being put on notice of the father’s "deathly fear" of Nick Cottone.

• Exhibit G: The 12/09/25 Targeted Provocation. The 3-channel "Meet and Greet" invitations for Nick Cottone sent after the HR complaint.

• Exhibit H: The 12/12/25 Staff Misconduct. Evidence of the substitute teacher mocking the student and the 4-day notification delay.

• Exhibit I: The 12/17/25 Retaliatory Communication Ban. Rae Mitchell's threat to sever the father's only link to his children's education.

• Exhibit J: The 1/5/26 FOIA Evasion Record. The "No Records Found" response for documents previously produced in 2024.

PART III: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD

• Exhibit K: HRTD Prior Validation. Documentation of the previously validated retaliation complaint against Nick Cottone.

• EXHIBIT L: RECORD OF ADMINISTRATIVE SILENCE & DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE

  "Between May 2024 and December 2025, I filed numerous workforce complaints and formal emails detailing the fraud committed by Nick Cottone and the subsequent retaliation by Dr. Kate Ridgeway.

  • Fact: LCPS Leadership (Superintendent’s Office and HRTD) has failed to provide a single substantive response to these documented reports of professional misconduct.

  • Legal Implication: Under federal and state guidelines, the failure to investigate a documented report of administrative fraud—especially when that fraud leads to the weaponization of an SRO and the denial of FAPE for a student with an IEP—constitutes Deliberate Indifference. This silence confirms that the district is knowingly allowing a hostile environment to persist."

EXHIBIT A-0: BREACH OF CONFIDENTIALITY & DOCUMENTED FRAUD (2022-2023)

VIOLATION 1: Professional Fraud. These 18 pages (VFOIA R001605-042624) prove a first-name partnership existed for 14 months (Aug 2022–Oct 2023), rendering Principal Cottone’s Oct 13, 2023, denial a false official statement.

VIOLATION 2: Breach of Confidentiality. The Sept 8, 2023, email documents Principal Cottone providing a "heads up" to a private individual regarding school-level intelligence. This is a violation of LCPS Policy 7560 and FERPA standards regarding student/parent privacy.

VIOLATION 3: Failure of Neutrality. This record proves the Principal was acting as an active participant in a private legal strategy rather than a neutral district administrator.

#LCPS #LoudounCountyPublicSchools #NickCottone #SenecaRidgeMiddleSchool #SMRS #LowesIslandElementarySchool #LIES #DominionHighSchool #DHS #AaronSpence #LoudounCounty #TroxelLeigh #LindsayMohler #GarethBowen