Federal agents subpoena two dozen school districts

BY ROBERT E. KESSLER.robert.kessler@newsday.com

February 26, 2008

A slew of federal agents ranged out over Long Island yesterday hand-delivering grand jury subpoenas to more than two dozen school districts as part of an investigation into possible double-dipping by attorneys employed by some of the districts, according to school officials, attorneys and sources.

The subpoenas delivered by agents from the FBI and the IRS were issued by a grand jury sitting in Central Islip and asked the districts for records going back to 1978, according to several officials and attorneys who received them.

The issuing of the subpoenas began Friday night, but was apparently continued into this week because many could not be served that day because of the snow that day and the closing of districts because of the holiday week. It is expected to continue through tomorrow.

One of the main purposes of a grand jury is to gather evidence of a possible crime by interviewing witnesses. Being issued a subpoena does not imply that the recipient has been involved in any wrongdoing.

Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Benton Campbell, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, declined to comment.

Most of the subpoenas appeared to be aimed at school districts that were clients of three law firms - Ingerman Smith in Hauppauge, and Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman and Ehrlich, Frazer and Feldman, both in Garden City. The law firms all have said they have done nothing improper.

Newsday has reported that an attorney at each of the firms earned retirement credits from the state pension system for being employed full- or part-time by some districts at the same time that their firms received millions of dollars in fees from school districts. The three lawyers, are Lawrence Reich, Carol Hoffman and Jerome Ehrlich. They have each denied having done anything illegal.

Great Neck was one of the districts that the sources said was subpoenaed yesterday. Ronald Friedman, the district's superintendent, declined to comment.

Joseph Conway, an attorney representing the law firm employed by three school districts, said he received federal subpoenas Friday night for the Baldwin, Copiague and East Meadow districts. Conway, who also represents Ingerman Smith, said the districts would comply with any subpoena.

On Sunday, Newsday reported that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is conducting a parallel but separate investigation, sent letters to all 124 school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties, requesting that they send his office all information on their dealings with lawyers for the past eight years.